As he expected, Tommy lost some credibility as leader, bringing me back into town. I could see it in the looks people gave him, right after they shot dirty glares at me. It didn't feel good, walking through a place where you were despised, and hardly anybody knew your name. They knew my face, and that was enough. It didn't really help that there weren't a lot of people with my skin tone, either.
We handed our horses off to some guys at the barn, who at least didn't look at me like they wanted to stab me as soon as I turned around. But I caught their uncomfortable body language as one took Callus II's reins, like if he got too close to me I might shoot him, too.
Tommy and Maria were nice enough to give me a few days to settle into town life before I attend school with Ellie. Char and Quinn were exempt from it, due to being "legal adults" and apparently old enough to have graduated from school back in the day. In Boston, getting thrown out of the military boarding school (sometimes literally) the day you turned eighteen was the equivalent of graduation. Your reward for surviving that awful hellhole? Mandatory military service.
I spent those few days cooped up in the house, too afraid to venture out into the summer sunshine and face the angry townspeople by myself. I would walk around with Quinn and Charlotte when absolutely necessary, like to get food, but otherwise I just read Ellie's comics, books, or slept until Ellie got home from school and then I had a real reason to get out of bed. Or stay in it.
We mostly settled on kissing when Joel wasn't around, sending me warning glares that were everybody else's equivalent of death glares. When I got tired of playing it safe in front of Joel, I would lead Ellie up to my room and we would continue our make-out session there. I loved holding her, feeling her warmth, her breath on my skin. It was amazing what positive human contact could do. I felt at peace with Ellie, I could forget my pain for a little while, and lose myself with her. I trusted her, which was more than I could say for a lot of people in my life.
We shared stories of our lives in Boston, on the road. Even though we trusted each other, there were some stories that ran too deep, that were too painful to tell. Ellie often danced around the subject of last winter, and I shut my mouth when Taylor came up. The wound was still raw, but it was healing.
"Are you ready?" Ellie asked me one morning, about four days since I came back. I sighed in response, slinging my backpack over one shoulder. A few worn-out textbooks replaced the canned food in it. If there was one thing I knew I would hate as much as the residents hated me, it was school.
As usual, I got the customary leers and whispered insults as Ellie and I walked towards the dining hall, which doubled as a classroom when people weren't there for food. We sat down at the cafeteria tables, along with about twenty other kids ranging from twelve to seventeen. Since the ages were so varied in the town, and there weren't a lot of kids to begin with, twelve was the dividing age between "juniors" and "seniors". I heard from Joel once during his curt stories of pre-infection America that there were more classifications of students, but nobody bothered to remember them.
I was sitting beside Ellie, doodling in my faded notebook while listening to the old man up front drone on about math. To the left of me were a couple other kids, one sixteen-year old boy with dark blond hair and another Chinese girl the same age beside him. Blondie was sleeping, head cradled in his elbow while the girl also looked like she wanted to fall asleep, but was trying to take notes anyway.
I didn't blame them. We had classroom cockroaches more exciting than this supposed "professor" back in Boston. The top of his head was completely bald, save for a horseshoe of silver hair around his ears. Even Taylor had more hair than this guy. He wore beige trousers and a collared shirt, as if appearances mattered in this poor excuse of a school.
Somebody on my right jabbed me in the ribs, and I resisted the urge to yelp. I glowered at Ellie, who was retracting her assault weapon: her elbow. "What the hell, Ellie?" I covertly hissed.
"I see you doodling. You should be taking notes!" she scolded quietly back. I glanced over at her notebook, the page full of the equations the teacher was explaining on the board.
"Why take notes when I can just copy from you later, little Miss Teacher's Pet? Plus, what does this algebra crap matter, anyway? I don't see anyone using algebra after the apocalypse." I retorted, and I caught more movement in the corner of my left eye. Blond boy was awake.
He blinked sleepily at me, pushing his hair back with his hand. "Would you shut up? I'm trying to sleep…" he slurred, burrowing his head further into his elbow.
We all jolted upright as we heard a sharp tap up front, like wood hitting wood. Even the Chinese girl sat up straight.
"What is going on over there? Do you mind sharing your conversation with the class, Dylan?" the professor up front requested, and Dylan the blond boy groaned, throwing me a glare.
"We were just discussing the equations, Sir. I don't understand number four." Dylan innocently explained, folding his arms like a diligent student.
Nice save, Blondie… I thought to myself, watching the professor's expression turn from annoyed to delight. He resumed his lecture, but Dylan had other plans. He turned just a fraction of a degree to me hissing, "Fucking Widowmaker…"
I snarled in reply, "What'd you call me?" I had heard the name whispered in passing before, but never directly to my face. Until now. I didn't particularly like being labelled a killer of Jackson's residents, although that was technically what I was. I stood up, towering over him.
Dylan raised his hands in surrender, his face a mask of innocence once more. "Take it easy man, I just wanted to borrow a pencil!" he lied, which everyone else in the class took to be the truth.
Ellie tugged on my sleeve, warning me to drop it. I ignored her. If people were going to treat me like shit, I wasn't going to let them. Not anymore. "You can lie to the teacher, but I ain't gonna take your shit. Tell him what you called me." I growled, loud enough for the dead-silent class to hear. They all seemed to hold their breath, leaning forward to see how this was going to turn out.
Dylan licked his lips, glancing around at his classmates. Unfortunately, almost everybody in Jackson thought the same way about me, so he had them on their side. I was starting to second-guess my attempt of starting a fight. He also stood up, the same height as me.
"I called you a fucking Widowmaker, 'cause that's what you are, leaving two families without fathers." Dylan drawled, and I noticed him sizing me up, like he was mentally calculating whether he could beat me in a fight or not. He was waiting to see what I would do.
"I don't like people calling me names, Dylan." I venomously warned him. One last chance to spare himself from a fight.
Dylan smirked, obviously deciding he wanted a brawl. "Well that's too bad, 'cause I'm gonna keep callin' you that, and so is everybody else. You don't belong here, Widowmaker. Murderer. It'd be better if-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence because his head impacted the table at high velocity, courtesy of my fist. Dylan rubbed his now bruised jaw as a clamor rose from the rest of the class, who tried to stay out of our way as Dylan lunged for me. I used his momentum against him, pushing him into the table again.
After a few more hits on both sides, the boring teacher actually did something and pulled us apart, along with Ellie and another boy. "I said that's enough! Out, both of you!" the professor bellowed, escorting us into the hall by our collars like two misbehaving cats.
When he shut the classroom/cafeteria doors behind him, he unceremoniously released us. I stumbled a few steps, but I caught myself on the stair railing. "I will not have you disrupting my lessons with foolish brawls! What do you have to say for yourselves?" he seethed, smoothing the wrinkled front of his collared shirt.
"He started it…" I muttered, glaring at Dylan. He returned it with just as much venom.
The professor narrowed his eyes at me in irritation. "Excuse me?"
"Sorry, Mr. Henderson…" Dylan murmured in an obviously fake apology. I repeated him, just to get the angry teacher off my back.
"That's better," Mr. Henderson huffed, and then he pointed to Dylan, "Now you stop insulting your classmates. And you," he turned to me, "Stop picking fights. Are we clear?" We both nodded. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow morning and I expect to get through my lesson without disruption. Get out of my sight." The balding man pointed in the direction of the door to the outside, and we both shuffled out into the sunshine.
Once outside, Dylan flipped the finger at me before jogging off around the corner. I ignored him, leaning against the brick wall of the building. As I expected, Ellie emerged from it a few minutes later, carrying both my backpack and hers. She didn't look happy.
"What's wrong with you? You haven't even been in school for an hour and you've already managed to get kicked out!" She accused me, tossing me my pack.
I slung it over one shoulder, kicking at the dusty ground. "You heard what he called me. You think I was just going to sit there and take it?" I replied in annoyance.
"You're here to show you can earn people's trust and make friends with them. Not fucking punch them in the face for calling you names!" Ellie reminded me in an exasperated voice.
I looked up at her then, and I slowly began to realize how stupid the whole thing seemed. I sighed, "Fine…let's just get out of here." I turned on my heel, stalking away from the brick building.
Ellie trotted up beside me, sending warning glances at anyone who threw insults at me as I passed. I grit my teeth, my temper already shortened from the fight. I rubbed my sore jaw where Dylan's fist had connected with it, just as a distraction.
"So what do you want to do now?" Ellie queried, and then barked at somebody to fuck off when they threw a small rock at me.
"How about letting me fight my own battles?" I growled, rubbing my arm where the projectile had hit.
Ellie cocked her head, her red hair blown across her face by the light breeze. She tucked it behind her ear. "I'm not fighting your battles. You just started one back there."
I sighed again. "Yeah, but I don't need people being so protective of me all the time."
"So you'd rather get rocks thrown at you and people insulting you to your face?" Ellie shot back.
"They'll see eventually that I ain't leaving, and they'll leave me alone." I answered, albeit uncertainly. They only seemed to be getting warmed up.
Ellie made a derisive noise in the back of her throat. "If there's one thing I know about people, it's that they prey on the weak. If they see you aren't going to fight back, and there's nobody else around to help you, they'll do whatever the fuck they want to you."
I noticed her shiver a little after that, and I didn't blame her. I had that happen to me more times than I'd like to remember. "It's a fine line between not letting stuff bother you and submissiveness, isn't it?"
Ellie shrugged. "But if you want to get your ass whooped by bitter townspeople, go right ahead. I'm not stopping you. I know how important pride is to guys."
"We'll see how it goes. What about a trail ride? We could hunt stuff for dinner and pick berries." I offered, thinking of nothing else but the need to get out of town for a while. I had been cooped up in the house for too long.
Ellie seemed to pick up on it because she agreed wholeheartedly. So we scrounged up some ammo and guns in the house, got our horses, and set off for the forest. Apparently Joel would be back at sundown because he had a late shift at the storehouse.
We ambled along the overgrown paths around the settlement, drinking in the fresh air and enjoying the coolness beneath the trees. We hunted rabbits, shot squirrels for fun, kissed each other like we did when nobody was watching, and then kissed some more because we couldn't seem to get enough of each other. It was fun kissing Ellie, and the more I did the better I got at it.
Our outing ended with a haul of two rabbits each, which we deposited at the cafeteria when the sun was touching the tops of the trees, and my lips were a bit sore from all the making out. But it was worth getting out of town for a while, and I was feeling a lot better when I stepped into the house with Ellie.
It quickly disappeared when I saw Joel sitting at the kitchen table, staring us down. "Hey, Joel. You're home early." I observed, as if that would deter him from the chewing out he looked ready to give us. He was supposed to be home in a couple of hours.
He pointed at both of us. "Sit down. I need to talk to both of you," he ordered. We immediately obliged. Nothing was heard except the scraping of chairs on wood as we settled in at the table. Char and Quinn were gone, which I found odd. They were usually home in the evening.
"Mr. Henderson told me both of you skipped school today." Joel began, lacing his fingers together.
I tentatively raised a hand. "Actually, I was officially excused because I started a fight." Ellie glared at me for abandoning her.
"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about. Tommy's trying very hard to give you a second chance, and you can't even spend a full day in school without losing your temper and punching some dumb kid in the face? How do you think that reflects on the man who's busting his ass trying to keep you here?" Joel scolded me, turning to Ellie as he gave me a chance to feel guilty.
"And you, now I know school ain't the most fun way to spend your time, but did you really have to tag along? You know you have a test at the end of the week, and I'll I've seen you do is lock lips with this boy!" Joel chastised Ellie, who averted her eyes like me. I resisted the urge to smirk; was I really that distracting?
Ellie finally looked up, indignant, "Joel, you know how people treat Aaron whenever he's around! He can't walk two steps out of the house without somebody throwing something at him or insulting him!"
Joel let out a long breath. "That's not your problem, Ellie. I'm sure he appreciates you caring about him so much, but he doesn't need a bodyguard. Aaron, you're a tough kid, you can take a few insults, can't you?" I thought he was playing a trick on my pride, but I nodded anyway. I needed to stand up for myself.
Joel unlaced his fingers, getting up from the table. It groaned under his weight as he stood up. "Good, now go get your books and catch up on your homework. I want you both in the kitchen, right here, where I can see you. Git on." He made a shooing motion with his hands.
"Where are Charlotte and Quinn?" Ellie queried, glancing at the empty couch as she stood up.
"They moved to Helen and George's, the expecting couple across the street. Maria thought it might be better for Charlotte if she was around somebody who already had a kid, you know?" Joel explained, and I was glad and disappointed at the same time that they had moved out. They were both getting kind of depressing and with so many people it was cramped, but I would miss hearing Char's bubbly chatter every morning as I came down for breakfast.
I pushed my chair back to get up and get my books, but then I noticed my pack wasn't by the door. It had all my school books in it, and I swore I had it when I came back from our trail ride…
"You forget your pack in the barn?" Ellie asked, noticing my confusion. I nodded, slipping my shoes on. "You want me to come with you?" she asked after me.
I shook my head, "Thanks, but I'll be fine. It's just down the street, I'll be back in ten." I let the screen door bounce shut behind me as I descended the crooked porch steps, picking up a jog in the fading twilight. There weren't many people around at this time, which was good because it meant less misery for me.
I briefly wondered how long these people could keep this bitter vengeance thing up, but I didn't get to come up with a hypothetical answer because someone grabbed me from an alleyway. Actually, two people did, and I could tell from their low, mocking laughter that they were boys. I struggled, hissing obscenities at them until I saw a familiar dark blond head emerge from the shadows.
"Dylan? What the fuck, man? Tell your lackeys to let me go!" I snarled at him. Of course, obviously being the one who ordered them to capture me, he was going to do no such thing.
"I wasn't finished with you back at school, Widowmaker. You're going to fucking pay the way you should, the way the people of Jackson want. I'm doing them a favour." Dylan didn't smile as he brutally punched me in the face twice. I was pinioned between his two friends, so I couldn't move my arms, hard as I tried.
I did manage to use my position to my advantage, though. As Dylan came in for a punch to my gut, I used his friends as support to push myself up, kicking him in the ribs. Blondie growled as he stumbled back, but the movement also set his lackeys off balance. They let me go as I wanted and I landed flat on my back.
Dylan didn't hesitate in pinning me to the ground with his knee, chuckling as he scored a few more hits to my face. I felt wetness streaming from my nose, and I tasted copper on my lips. His friends were smart enough to hold my legs down so I wouldn't kick again.
Fortunately, that left one arm free so I slugged Dylan across the face, effectively getting him off of me. I wrenched free of his friends and I only managed a few steps in the opposite direction before something heavy, hard, and large impacted my right side. I cried out, spying a metal pipe glimmering dully in the fading light as I slammed against the wooden wall to my left.
I saw stars as Dylan bludgeoned me with the pipe again, and I swore I heard something crack as I crashed to the ground. My right side exploded in pain, but I could only whimper as it became harder to stay awake. I blacked out for a couple seconds, long enough for Dylan to kneel by my head.
"Maybe next time you decide to live somewhere you don't belong, you'll think twice," he sneered, roughly patting my shoulder. The added pressure made my ribs sear with pain. I was dead wrong to think he was done.
He mercilessly kicked me once, twice, and then three times in the stomach, smiling while his lackeys stood by laughing.
I couldn't breathe.
So I blacked out, and the pain stopped.
I woke with a gasp, my breaths shallow and rapid as my lungs irritated my ribs. I had trouble getting enough air because every time I inhaled, agony stabbed my right side. I was aware of a soft light permeating the dimness around me, the first light of early dawn. It made the wood glow orange wherever it touched. I recognized my immediate surroundings as my room in Joel's house.
"Hey, you're awake." A familiar voice mumbled beside me, and I glanced down to see Ellie snuggled against my left side. She yawned, removing her head from my shoulder to look up at me. Her eyes were dull with sleep, but the concern in them was bright.
"Yeah. How'd I get here?" I asked hoarsely, planting a feeble kiss on her forehead.
Ellie furrowed her brow, trying to concentrate through her sleepiness. "Quinn was coming back to Helen's place, and he saw these kids beating you up. I'm pretty sure he whooped their asses. They won't be bothering you again. Then he brought you here," she explained, her voice soft as the dawn light.
"So what's the damage this time?" I queried, but I could easily hazard a guess that I had at least one broken rib.
"The doctor said you have one cracked rib, one broken rib, a mild concussion, and a broken nose. You'll be in bed for a while." Ellie explained, nestling her head into my shoulder again. I winced a little at the movement.
A pleasant silence fell over us, and I was just glad she was there. I was glad for a lot of things, like surviving the beating with a good chance of full recovery. But one thing kept bothering me. Once I healed up and I was able to walk around, what was going to stop people like Dylan from beating me up again?
"Ellie…"I began, and she looked up at me, "this is going to happen again. Who's to say it won't be worse next time, like they might actually bring a knife to stab me with, or a gun? I can't go around waiting for people to beat me. Dylan was right, I shouldn't stay here."
Ellie took a moment before she spoke, "You're not leaving again just because some dumbasses don't like you. Tommy's making sure than anyone who tries this again will be punished severely. As Joel said, he wants you to stay and he's gonna make sure you do."
"But look at what happened. Dylan was just a kid my age. What if it's a gang of adults next time? People loathe me here. They want me dead to pay for the men I murdered." I protested, and a tense quiet invaded the air around us. We both knew I was right.
Ellie let out a long breath, reaching a hand out to tentatively trace my bare collarbone. "We'll work through it. Together. Right?"
I made a noise of agreement, closing my eyes and letting the simple pleasure of her touch calm my anxiety. She always knew how to make me feel better. "You'd do that for me?" I murmured after a while, resting my cheek on the top of her head.
"Is this gonna turn into one of those 'I'm not worth it' arguments again? Of course I would, and so would Joel, Tommy, Maria, Quinn, and Charlotte. You've got all of us to fall back on, and you mean a lot to us. We're not going to give up on you. Especially not me." Ellie promised determinedly.
I smiled then, even if it hurt my sore jaw to do it. I kissed her forehead again in reply, and then her lips. I felt a new, deeper intimacy now as my battered body demanded rest, and Ellie's warmth and gentle breath on my skin lulled me to sleep. I held her as close as the pain would allow, curling myself around her so I could rest my forehead on hers. We didn't need words to communicate the same message.
I love you.
I was sure now that everything would turn out okay. All I had to do was take it one day at a time.
A/N: There you go, a final close to Rancour. I hope you all enjoyed reading this story! Remember, if you want to see future one-shots, it must be upon request/prompt. Otherwise, no one-shots. :(
Review! :D