I lift myself out of the hole, immense pain striking me as I do and I almost fall back down, but Ty catches me and helps me out.
"You really need to let Husky tend to you." Ty suggests.
"Not until I find Mitch and Jerome." I retort. "Jason, go to Husky and take Tyler with you. He's over there." I point to a small tent which could fit about ten people. "Mak, you'll come with me." Her eyes light up as I trudge over to a large stack of rubble. "You'll be helping me find the Benja and the Bacca." I begin shifting rocks and not too deep into our excavation, I find Mitch's hoodie, but no Mitch. I hand it to Mak and she ties it around her waist, and then returns to helping me dig.
"Come on, come on." I mutter. "Where are they?" I look at my watch: 4:57 AM. Great; the sun's not up yet. That puts us in even more danger. As I try to push against a boulder roughly the same size as me, a stinging and burning sensation strikes my chest, causing me to cry out and fall to the ground, shivering. I lift my head, finding my cheek stained in blood… my blood. Mak rushes to my side as I struggle to roll onto my back, crying out in pain every time pain strikes me.
"Ty!" Mak shrieks, Ty sprinting over immediately after. He kneels down beside me, picking me up in his arms. Tears pour down my cheeks, somewhat cleaning the blood-stained one, as I scream through clenched teeth, Ty all the while carrying me over to Husky's little tent.
"Fish!" Ty yells, stepping inside the tent. Husky groans, his back turned toward us.
"I'm not a fish, Ty— what happened?" Husky asks turning around, taking his attention off of Adam, and spotting me shivering in Ty's arms. He immediately takes me from Ty and sets me down on an empty cot, my sight becoming covered by black dots as he did. Ty stands staring at me in concern and the front of the tent until Mak pulls him back out, she too giving me a nervous glance. As I watch them, I pay no attention as Husky places a large, wet washcloth on my wound, causing me to shriek in pain. He quickly takes it off, eyeing me worried.
"Jayce, if I'm going to heal this," He coos, "I need you not to scream."
"Give me a gag, then." I retort weakly, watching as he grabs a smaller washcloth and hands it to me. "Bring it on." I bite down on the smaller cloth and brace for pain. Husky places the cloth on my ripped skin again and I groan, almost coming out as a scream, biting down on the cloth. The pain begins to settle and I rest my head against the cot, taking shaky breaths.
"Now I need to take your shirt off so I can bandage the wound, okay?" Husky asks calmly and I nod, rolling my tank top so my wound is completely visible. Husky helps me to sit up and pulls out a thin white wrap bandage, wrapping around my wound and apologizing every time I wince. He finally lets me lay back down on the cot, telling me I can't go back out to help the others and walking out of the tent. I nod lightly and close my eyes, forgetting to breathe for a moment as I sigh. I listen to the chatter outside and the tent curtains suddenly part slightly, revealing Tyler with Mak standing behind him.
"Hey guys," I greet, sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of the cot, wincing, "what're you doing here? I thought you were still searching for da Benja and da Bacca."
"We wanted to see how you and Adam were doing." Tyler answers and I jerk my thumb behind me at Adam's cot, looking over myself and seeing him still unconscious. I smile weakly and turn back to Tyler.
"I'm okay, still in pain though. I have no idea what's going on with Adam and it's killing me." I inform and sending Tyler a confused look as he blushes lightly. "What…" I look down at myself, realizing that my tank top is still rolled up and resting on my shoulders, "oh…" I roll my tank top back down, a light blush dusting my cheeks and the top of the bandage peeking above my shirt line.
"Mak, Tyler!" Ty shouts worry obviously trying to be hidden.
"They're with me, Ty!" I yell back, watching as he shoots into the tent a few seconds after. He spots me and an authentic grin replaces the agonized look on his face. His eyes flicker to Mak and Tyler.
"We'll be setting up camp soon. You two can go help, if you want." Their eyes light up and they sprint out of the tent. Ty chuckles and watches them run out.
"Thank you, by the way." I say, making him spin around and raise an eyebrow.
"Thank me for what?" He asks, laughter lacing his words as he sits down next to me on the cot.
"For getting me to Husky in time; I was ready to pass out by the time you got me… here…" My words slur and my head feels as if it's filled with lead. My heads falls onto Ty's shoulder and black dots cloud my vision. My eyelids feel heavy and he turns his head to me, panicking at my current condition.
"J-Jayce…?" He asks his voice cracking. I snap back to a sitting position, blinking groggily.
"I-I'm okay, just a bit tired." Ty lays me back down on the cot and smiles down at me.
"Get some sleep." He says, leaning down and kissing my forehead, but before I can process what just happened, I fall asleep.
I groan softly as I open my eyes, finding myself still in the tent. I sit up and look over to Adam's cot; he's still there. I force myself to my feet and kneel next to him.
"Please Adam…" I plead, placing a hand on his cheek, "…wake up, please. Don't leave me here. I don't want to be the only mature one in the group. Everyone else acts like a child if we're not in danger." I chuckle lightly at my own words and Adam smiles, placing his hand atop mine and groaning softly, his eyes fluttering open. My smile grows as his eyes fall on me and a tear slips down my cheek. Adam's eyes flicker down to my chest and widen.
"What the hell did you do?!" He asks me, his voice hoarse and I smile.
"I got the full blow of the explosion. It ripped most of the skin on my chest off." He winces.
"That's gotta hurt." I nod. "So where's everyone else?" His eyes suddenly widen again. "Where's Tyler?" He tries to sit up, but winces and I push him back down lightly.
"He's fine. Everyone's okay…" My smile quickly fades. "But we haven't found Mitch or Jerome yet. At least, I don't think we have."
"What do you mean, 'don't think we have.'?"
"Well, I was in the middle of searching for them with Mak and I started bleeding badly." Adam's eyes widen and he tries to sit up. I push him back down gently again and continue with my explanation. "Ty carried me to where we are now and let Husky tend to me. I'm okay; I promise." Adam's eyes flicker to the cot as he rolls over onto his side.
"Why would you do that?" He mutters refusing to make eye contact with me as my smiles fades.
"Why would I do what?"
"You sacrificed yourself to save us. Why?" The confusion is wiped from my mind as I process what he's asking. I sigh and sit back on my knees, staring at my hands which sit on my lap.
"You guys are really the only family I have left." A tear slips down my cheek and I close my eyes. "I couldn't lose you guys, too. I couldn't live with myself if I did."
"Jayce, come here." Adam swings his legs over the side of the bed and sits up, patting the space next to him. I pull myself to my feet and sit gently beside him. His arm wraps around my waist and pulls me closer to him. I decline to look at him, so I stare at the floor and he pulls me closer so that my head is lying on his shoulder.
"I-I know this isn't really the best time to say this," Adam stutters, obviously uneasy, "but… god, how do I put this?" I turn my attention to him and lift my head off of his shoulder to face him, waiting patiently as he stares at the ground in front of him, obviously deep in thought.
"Just say it. Come on, you can tell me." I encourage, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach, a small smile on my face.
"Jayce, I love…" He says, turning his head and trailing off when his eyes lock with mine. He suddenly turns away and holds his head in his hands with a small groan of possible annoyance, seeming ashamed or embarrassed.
"Adam, I…" I start, catching his attention and he turns to me, "I just…" I sigh and step out of the tent into the damp spring night. I walk a few feet away from the tent and stop, a longing trying to pull me back to the tent. I keep my back to the tent as I begin to sing "On the Steps of the Palace" from Into the Woods, which seems fitting for my current situation. ( watch?v=kfmgy6pxMjs {Skip to 0:37})
"He's a very smart Prince; he's a Prince who prepares. Knowing this time I'd run from him, he spread pitch on the stairs and I'm caught unawares. Well it means that— he cares." A small smile appears on my face; Adam isn't really a prince. He acts like one, though. I shake my head to clear the thought. "This is more than just malice. Better stop and take stock while you're standing here stuck on the steps of the palace. All right, what do you want? I have to make a decision. Why not stay and be caught? Should I give that a thought? What would be his response? But then what if he knew who I am when I know that I'm not what he thinks that he wants? Or, then, what if I am what a Prince would envision? But then how can you know who you are till you know what you want, which I don't? So then which do you pick: Where you're safe, out of sight, and yourself, but where everything's wrong? Or where everything's right but you know that you'll never belong? And whichever you pick, do it quick, because you're starting to stick to the steps of the palace.
"It's my first big decision, the choice isn't easy to make. To arrive at a ball is exciting and all once you're there, though, it's scary. And it's fun to deceive when you know you can leave, but you have to be wary. There's a lot that's at stake, but I've stalled long enough, cause I'm still standing stuck in the stuff on these steps. Better run along home and avoid the collision. Though at home they don't care, I'll be better off there where there's nothing to choose, so there's nothing to lose." I end the song early, seeing as the rest of it doesn't help, and sit down on the damp grass, hugging my knees and watching the horizon illuminating with calming hues of pink, orange, and yellow. I place my forehead on my knees and sigh. Someone sits down next to me and I bring my head up, spotting Adam next to me and I blush; he obviously heard me. I hide my face between my knees and hug my knees, closing my eyes.
"J-Jayce…" Adam mutters, scooting closer to me and ignoring the shuffling behind us. I lift my head up again, but refuse to look at him and stare at the ground in front of me. He puts a finger under my chin and turns my head so that I'm facing him. My misty grey/blue eyes stare tiredly into his soft chocolate brown ones, a small smile appearing on his face as he places a hand on my cheek. "I-I wanted to say that… that I…" His eyes dart between the ground and my gaze, as if he's contemplating whether or not to do something. He sighs and pulls me onto his lap. I stare at him in concern and confusion, placing a hand on his cheek.
"I get it…" I whisper, leaning closer to him and closing the gap between us. At first, Adam only sits staring at me, stunned, but he wraps his arms around my waist, melting into the kiss. I snake my arms around his neck.
"Finally!" Someone shouts behind Adam and I glance over his shoulder, blushing furiously when I spot Tyler, Mak, and the rest of TC. I hide my face in Adam's chest and he wraps his arms around me, most likely blushing at the same intensity that I am.
"What do you mean 'finally'?" I ask obvious sarcasm in my muffled voice.