"Weaver's thinking about moving you to the sniper team," Hal said, turning to look at Thalia briefly, "he thinks you've improved with your shots over the last couple of months."
"I don't know, I kinda' like it here on your team." She said as she shrugged, eyes remaining on the dirty road outside of the apartment building they were stationed in.
Hal smiled, more so for the fact that she wouldn't look at him as she said it, even after months together she was still unable to legitimately compliment him. He watched her silently, her blue eyes reflecting the light of the fires outside, Maggie and Ben on her right, Hal and Jimmy on her left. They were on watch, the long-range team as Weaver and Pope's squads created a diversion. They'd been waiting a while for the signal, and despite everyone leaning against the wall slightly relaxed Thalia remained tense. Her eyes had remained on the widow as she leaned against it, rifle in both hands.
She'd come a long way from the skinny, frightened girl that Hal had first found, and he was proud of her for it. She was more confident now, level headed, reliable; she was a soldier now. Despite her new found independence Hal still couldn't help but feel responsible of her, going as far as to say he were even protective. He couldn't particularly explain how or why, but he just did, he supposed it was because of how helpless she had been when he first met her. She may have been holding a gun to his head, but her starved figured and frenzied eyes showed him she was anything other than dangerous.
She attempted to put on this constant hard façade, that she wasn't afraid of anything and would never trust anyone. But the night she'd had a nightmare revealed she was anything but that, and to Hal it seemed like she was just as scared and alone as the rest of them were. She'd never admit it, but they both knew that Hal knew her better than she knew herself; after all he was partially responsible for the changes that she had undertaken after joining them.
"Is that you trying to say you like spending time with me?" He teased; watching the roll of eyes as she finally looked at him.
"Don't flatter yourself; your team is just the only one that doesn't piss me off."
"I resent that." Maggie piped up, looking up from her sitting position with a smirk on her face, "you don't wanna' move because you like us."
"If you say so," she commented quietly, returning her gaze back to the window, although Hal caught the faintest of smiles on her face.
They descended back into silence, staring into space or outside waiting for the moment they would be needed. It wasn't just Thalia's attitude or confidence that had improved, her health had too. Her skin was no longer incredibly pale and her eye bags weren't as present as before. She was no longer incredibly skinny either, food was still rationed among the Second Mass, but she was certainly eating more than she had before. Her cheeks were no longer sunken, and she looked fuller around her waist and chest, visibly she had become more attractive. It was impossible for anyone not to notice, much less Hal.
She just looked happier too, it was something he struggled to explain, but her eyes and persona just seemed to glow. She was far less cynical because of it.
She now fit the clothes that had been given to her, and thanks to Dai's scouting team a few weeks back she had been given new boots. More comfortable ones at that, the contentment on her face the first day she had worn them had said as much. Her hair had grown a little too, and didn't look so thin either. Volume had returned to it, and now she had to put in a French braid in order to keep it out of the way, a few stray strands would escape though, but Hal thought it suited her. He liked to think he was getting a small peek at what Thalia was once like before any of this had ever happened.
Ben looked on between the two silently, almost wanting to shake his head in amusement at his older brother, who seemed so oblivious to his outward staring of Thalia. Even he knew that Hal had a soft spot for her, her ability to get away with any rule breaking that she did during missions was only one factor that made it obvious, and the constant hovering Hal did made it merely embarrassing. He didn't remember Hal being so … uncool with girls back before the invasion; in fact he always seemed to attract several with his confidence. Only Thalia seemed so painfully ignorant of it that Ben guessed Hal didn't know how to even approach his own feelings when it came to her.
It baffled him that neither of them seemed to notice, they were so incredibly content with being friends that it were as if neither of them had even thought of the possibility that more could happen. He supposed somewhere down the line, maybe years from now, that something could. For now Thalia kept everyone at arm's length, even Hal. She had an incredibly amount of loyalty to him, it was astonishing how she'd back him up anywhere and in every situation. They were attached to the hip, only he was unsure that it would ever be more.
Hal would have to get over Maggie first, but that was a whole other can of worms that Ben had no interest in getting into.
"You know, since I'm pretty much your best bud now, I was thinking of giving you a nickname."
"Please don't," Thalia groaned out, already preparing herself for the ridiculous names Hal would most likely come out, "you already ridicule me enough."
"Oh, that's real rich of you. Pretty sure you're the one who never stops reminding me of how much an annoying shit I am?"
"Because you are!" She said, unable to hide the grin that spread across her face as she looked at him, Hal let out a quite chuckle.
"Nah I was being serious, I don't know, you just don't seem to like Thalia much…" She didn't meet his eyes when he looked back up to her, and Hal knew full well why she wouldn't. For reasons he was still trying to find out Thalia seemed to despise her own name and he was sure it was connected to her past before all of this. Possibly even way before the invasion.
"I think Tallie's cute, what do ya think? Shorter too."
"By one syllable," she commented, and shrugged as she straightened her posture, "but whatever… okay, if you want to … I don't really care."
"The translation to that is that she thinks it's way better." Maggie laughed out, standing up from her crouch on the floor to raise her rifle, ignoring the look Thalia gave her as an explosion went off close by.
That was their signal, and instantly the four of them perked up, adrenaline coursing through Hal's veins as he effortlessly forced himself into gear. Bikes swiveled around the corner of the street, Pope in the clear lead as he jumped up off of his own. Skitters and Mech's were hot on their heels, and without even the need of an order from Hal, as their team had become so accustomed to each other, they began shooting.
It didn't take long, with Pope and Weaver's group taking down the Mech's, and Hal's focusing on the Skitter's, they were quickly disposed of. Weaver's shouts echoed up to the apartment they were hiding out in, his orders to ceasefire being abide by almost instantly. Except for Ben, that is, who constantly seemed to go above and beyond what was asked of him. And not in an impressive way.
"Cease fire!" Hal screamed, his anger evident as Ben let out a few more shots, before finally stopping.
He looked to Hal, not an inch of remorse or any willingness to apologise, and it stressed Hal out beyond belief. Ben had seemed to only be getting worse with his disobedience, his hatred towards the Skitters and what they had done to him seemed to be the only thing that fueled his willingness to fight, and to Hal that was more than dangerous. Because it was an almost suicidal sort of anger, the type where you seemed to lack any preservation for your own life, let alone your squad. He knew it was mostly to do with his Dad being gone, only he didn't know the first thing about how to deal with it. Amongst being there for Max, and trying to keep it together for himself, and having to take control of his own squad, Hal didn't know the first thing about how to convince Ben it wasn't his fault.
"Captain! We look good down here." Hal screamed out the window, across to Weaver.
"Get the hell out of there!" He replied, "We got eight minutes tops before those beamers respond!"
Hal turned around, swinging the strap of his rifle over his shoulder and motioning for everyone to move. Pulling on his rucksack as Maggie and the rest did the same.
"Come on, move out!"
"Jimmy stay close!" Maggie ordered, leading the way out of the apartment and down the hall. Thalia halted, waiting on Hal as he turned to look back at Ben.
"Ben come on, we're moving out."
"Got one still moving," he said, using the scope on his rifle to get a better view, "can't get a shot."
"Well leave it!"
"Ben, it doesn't matter it's as good as dead anyway."
Thalia's voice appeared to be the most neutral out of them all, the opposite of Hal's anger-filled one, his eyes looking slightly panicked. She looked back at him, her blue eyes emitting nothing but completely patience, despite not even knowing Ben well she always tried to calm the rifts between him and his older brother. Ben's shoulders visibly relaxed, and his rifle began to lower, and for a second it almost looked like he was going to walk away from it.
Only he didn't, and instead he leaped out the window. His abilities that had come by being harnessed from the Skitters allowed him to do so without injury, and it still left Thalia in awe.
"Ben!" Hal yelled, turning away from the window to begin sprint down the hall, and only faltering for a brief moment to make sure Thalia was following him, spurring her on to quicken her pace.
He'd been far faster than her in getting down the stairs, which only reminded her of the fact that she was still nowhere near as fit as Hal, or Maggie and Jimmy for that fact. Still despite it all he still looked back, still making sure she didn't stray too far from his lead. It wasn't until he had caught up with Ben, who just released another gunshot at a far off Skitter that his mind became a complete blank.
The Skitter collapsed, and Hal's breathe hitched in his throat, the blood in his veins becoming ice cold as his eyes set upon a familiar sight.
"Dad?"
I'm on a roll with updating this one, I've just been really into it recently, which I hope carries on for a while! This is pretty much just an insight into other characters mind, as well as a set up for both Hal and Thalia's progressing relationship, although I want to be clear that Hal and Maggie's romance will still very much be happening!
Thanks for reading guys, and please review!
