a/n: Hi, guys! So yeah I didn't publish last week, and as of now this is all I have written on the fic thus far. I'm super busy with school and got distracted by a couple other fics, so if you guys wanna send some love my way it would really help! I know everything that's gonna happen...I just gotta write it...
In other news, I watched The New Mutants and went into a spiral on my blog about Henry Zaga's incredibly thicc thighs, so if you wanna go experience that, check out the henry zaga tag (or the nick andros tag) on my tumbler, binickandros. But uh hence Kai objectifying Nick's body. Whoops.
Enjoy, and drop me a line!
i don't know nothin' about democracy
don't know how to spell bureaucracy
don't know about the ups and downs of the economy
all i know is that they're there and i'm here, i'm here
Ellis Paul, "Broke and Hungry"
When Stu and Frannie showed up for dinner, there was a guy with them Kai recognized immediately—not from real life, but from the dream. Stu introduced him as Larry Underwood, and when Kai introduced him to Nick, they exchanged a meaningful look that told him what he needed to know.
"Come in," Kai said. "Welcome to Boulder. I'm glad you made it."
"Thanks," he said. "Thanks for having me. Imagine my surprise when I pull in and I'm immediately told I've been nominated to the Free Zone Committee."
"It took all of us by surprise," Nick said, "and we've been here a while."
"I don't think any of us were looking to be in charge, but I guess someone has to be," Fran said. She signed as she spoke, and Kai found herself wondering, as she had before, what had happened to Frannie's little brother. The flu? It didn't seem like it. And it didn't seem polite to ask.
"I kinda thought that was Mother Abagail's job," Larry was saying.
"I guess it's not a theocracy," said Kai. She waved for them to follow her. "Everyone else is already here. We're outside, using the pizza oven. Nick and Rae got our solar panels working a few days ago, so we have cold beer and soda, and a surprise for dessert."
"Kai's a baker," Fran told Larry. "If she's offering a dessert surprise, it's worth sticking around for."
He grinned, nervously. Stuck his hands in his pockets and pulled them out again. Kai cast Nick a glance, and he nodded. He touched Larry's arm and beckoned for him to stay behind with him in the kitchen while everyone else went outside. He looked confused for a moment, but then he caught Nick's meaning and nodded.
"Hey, man," he said once they were alone. "Fran said you can read lips?"
Nick nodded and scribbled something on his pad. "Just talk normally. If I miss something I can usually figure it out, but I might ask you to repeat."
"Sure, no problem. So, uh…where ya from?"
"Nebraska. Met Kai in Arkansas. I think we're gonna swap stories after dinner. I wanted to talk a sec, bc this shit is overwhelming. Esp the whole FZC thing."
Larry let out a long breath and scrubbed a hand over his short hair. "God, no shit." He took the beer Nick handed him with a nod of thanks. "I feel like I just walked in the door. Haven't picked a house. Barely met Mother Abagail. Now all of a sudden I'm supposed to be in charge? People don't know me from Adam. Who the fuck am I to tell them what to do?"
Nick shrugged and took a pull of his beer before picking up his pen. "I guess it's up to us to decide how much we'll be telling ppl what to do. But I promise Glen'll have something to say about it, so don't get too comfy w/ the idea yet."
His brow quirked in acknowledgement. "You, Kai, and Rae were in the first group, right?"
"Yep. We met Rae in Kansas & were the 1st grp to get to HH, NE."
"We saw your signs along the way."
Nick grinned. Larry wasn't the first person to tell him that, but it never failed to tickle him. "Good. How big was your group?"
"Good size. Fifty or so. I came all the way from New York. Kept pickin' up people along the way."
"Wow. Almost as far as Fran & Harold."
Larry huffed out a chuckle. "Funny you should say that. Before we hit Nebraska, I was following Harold's signs. I was planning to stop by his place tomorrow, meet him and say thank you. I was surprised when I got here that Fran's with Stu and not him."
Nick shifted his weight and used the pen to scratch his cheek. "Harold's like 16-17. Smart, tho."
"Guess that's why he's not on the committee. His age?"
He hesitated. He wanted to be honest with Larry, but he also didn't want to talk shit about Harold—or color Larry's impression of him. It was obvious he admired him, and there was a lot of admire about him. It maybe wasn't entirely his fault he came across a little…creepy. Or, as Kai had said, wrong. "I think so," he wrote. "Mom A didn't explain any of the choices to us. Just handed Rae a list & told her to print it off."
"Guess that's that, then," Larry said.
Kai appeared from the back patio. "Hey, guys. Came back in for drinks. Nicky, I think we're about ready for pizza."
He set his drink down and clapped his hands. He was very excited about the pizza oven. He nodded goodbye to Larry and kissed Kai's temple on his way out.
She offered Larry a smile and gestured toward the fridge. "Mind helping me carry a few things? Since apparently Nick forgot."
"Sure, no problem. This's a nice place."
"Thanks," she said with a grin. She opened the fridge and handed him a tray of canapés. Grabbed a pitcher of sangria and another of tea, then bumped the door closed with her hip. "Several of them in this neighborhood have solar panels. They're working on getting the power back on, but in the meantime it's nice to have cold drinks. I can show you around tomorrow. Did you go to orientation today?"
He nodded and followed her through the open folding glass doors onto the slate patio. "Yeah, we got the maps and everything."
"Good," she said. She set the pitchers on the table and motioned for Larry to do the same with the tray. "Then you know the neighborhoods we're asking people to stick to."
He frowned and took the open seat next to Stu. "I was gonna ask about that."
"It's purely for practical purposes," Susan said. She selected a mini quiche from the tray and Glen poured them each a glass of sangria. "We'd rather people not scatter out too much while we're all still arriving. That way we can have more accurate head counts. Plus it'll make it easier on the power grid, as well as just…getting things cleaned up."
"Bodies, you mean," Larry said.
Stu nodded and passed Fran the tea pitcher. "They're all over. Like any city. We've already formed a cleanup committee, but they can't do the whole place. We need them to focus neighborhood by neighborhood, because it ain't just the houses."
"We're not trying to recreate the idea of ghettos," Glen said.
"Glen." Kai rolled her eyes a little. "Come on, please."
"I know, I know," she said and waved a hand. "It's practical. I get it. It makes sense. And once we get more stable, we'll ease the restrictions. But what happens if someone wants to settle outside the lines we've drawn?"
"That's their choice," Fran said. "It'd be like anyone settling outside city limits, before. You might not be on city water. You might not have city trash pickup. But if that's where you want to live, fine."
Nick stopped by the table to snag his beer. "First couple of pizzas are almost ready," he said. He ruffled Kai's hair, then grinned when she batted him away.
"Don't talk about anything important until I get back."
"Cute and he cooks," Susan said. "Hold on to that one."
Kai laughed. "I guess for some of us, finding The One only took the end of the world."
"Amen," Stu said.
"I'll drink to that," said Larry.
"We'll have to have another dinner where can bring our apocalypse buddies," Rae said. She'd picked the term up from Nick and Kai and found she liked it. "I thought we'd keep this just committee."
"I think I'm the only person here without one," Glen said. "That's fine with me. I was married for forty years, and I don't need another man in my house." She paused. "Or woman. A dog's okay, though." She grinned down at Kojak and tossed him a cocktail wiener.
"I know you've got somethin' to say about this Free Zone Committee thing, Professor," Stu said. "You might as well spill it."
She frowned. "Not till after dinner. Let's just eat, enjoy the evening and these lovely pizzas. But, yes. I have a great deal to say."
Stu raised his beer to her. "Not a goddamn one of us doubted it."
After dinner they all retired to the living room, where Kai served pie while Nick, Stu, and Larry worked on cleanup. Until they got the water running again, pretty much everyone was using paper plates. It was a thousand times easier than trying to wash dishes in a bucket, and the overcrowding of landfills wasn't quite as much of a worry anymore.
They arrived in the living room with fresh coffee, Stu built up a fire in the fireplace, and they settled in to finally get to the meat of why they were here.
"I guess we should start by introducin' ourselves. I mean, we all pretty much know each other, but we've never really told our stories—and Larry's new," Stu said. "I'll go first, since it was my idea. I'm Stu Redman, from Arnette, Texas. Uh, well…Arnette was sorta Ground Zero for this thing. Some guy named Campion was workin' in a military research lab in the Texas desert. Somethin' went wrong, and he lit out with his wife and baby. Was too late, though, and he brought the flu with him across half the state. Ended up in Arnette."
"Jesus," Larry said.
"Yep," said Stu. He took a pull of his beer and frowned down at the bottle. "The military rounded up the whole goddamn town. Took us to the CDC, first in Atlanta, then in Vermont, but they couldn't figure nothin' out from us. Everyone died, except me. Even the guinea pigs."
Fran rubbed his back. "You don't have to talk about that part, Stu. It's okay."
He gave a brief nod and a little sigh of relief. "Anyway, I met Glen in New Hampshire a week or so later. Uh, little background on me, I guess: my wife Norma died about four years ago. Cancer. I used to work at the calculator factory in Braintree. Never went to college. Didn't finish high school. Just a poor, dumb redneck from East Texas who somehow survived the end of the world."
"Not dumb," Glen said with a frown. "I've met dumb, and you aren't it. I guess I'll go next." She waved. "I'm Glennis Bateman. Glen. I'm from Woodsville, New Hampshire, and this fine fella here is Kojak. I didn't know him before the flu, but I'm glad we found each other. I'm a widow for the last two years, and I taught sociology at Woodsville Community College for over forty years. I just recently retired, was enjoying my golden years, and then this." She sighed. "Guess I won't get bored.
"The first time I met Stu I told him to get lost. I didn't want to leave Woodsville and I wasn't following any damn dreams halfway across the country. Not at my age. But then he came back a few days later with Frannie and Harold and I guess I changed my mind. So here we are, more than halfway across the country, and roped into a committee without any sort of due process. But we'll get to that."
Stu nudged Fran's knee. "You next, kid."
She smiled at him, then at the group. "I'm Fran Goldsmith, from Ogunquit, Maine. I was a college student before—everything. I know you've all met Harold Lauder. He's from Ogunquit, too, and we knew each other before. His sister Amy was my best friend, and I used to babysit Harold. So far we're the only two people we've met who knew each other from before the flu."
She paused, briefly, and took a sip of her sparkling water. "I lost my parents, but my little brother died when we were younger. He was deaf, which is how I know some ASL. Also"—she took a deep breath—"I'm pregnant. The father died of the flu. But I guess everyone's gonna know before too much longer, so I might as well just tell you now."
Stu smiled and squeezed her shoulder while exclamations of delight and surprise went around the room.
"I'm nervous," she said, "but an OB came in with Larry's group, so that's some luck."
"I guess I'll go next," Larry said as the chatter died down. "I'm Larry Underwood from Queens, New York. I was in Queens visiting my ma when shit started goin' down. I came outta the city with a woman named Rita, but she…passed along the way." He shifted in his seat, briefly uncomfortable. "Then I ran into Nadine Cross and Joe, and Lucy Swann, my girlfriend, further on after that. I followed Harold's signs all the way from New York to Nebraska. That kid really got me through."
Frannie offered him a smile. "He was keen on those signs. He'll be glad to know they helped you."
"That's about all about me. Um, I was a musician before all this. Tryin' to be, anyway. Mostly just fuckin' up my life. I'm not really sure why Mother Abagail would want me on her committee, but…I guess she's not one much for explaining herself. Just from what I saw."
"She's not," Kai said with a wry smile. "I guess I'll go next?" She glanced at Nick, and he nodded. "I'm Kai d'Arnaud from Abilene, Louisiana, and this is Nick Andros, originally from Nebraska." She talked about Remy—told Stu he'd probably been through Arnette, for chilli—and about the restaurant. She gave them a brief recap of how they'd met, Nick's attack and subsequent illness, then their run-in with Julie and how they'd met Rae.
"Which brings us to me," she said. "Hi, I'm Rae Brentner. I'm from Pratt, Kansas, and before all this I was a farmer. My husband died a few years ago, also of cancer, and my son and I had been running the farm ever since. My daughter was a student at Berkley." She explained about hearing Mother Abagail's voice on the road and heading back home to find Nick, Kai, and Tom in her house.
"Julie and I knew each other before," she said to Frannie. "She dated my son. Strange thing, this flu. How it picks and chooses."
"Truly," Glen said, her voice dry. "Sounds like it maybe should've chosen differently with her."
"I wouldn't've minded," Kai said with a grimace. Nick nodded emphatic agreement.
Susan went next. She'd been a nuclear engineer before Trips, which was why she was in charge of the power station now. She gave them a brief run-down of her situation before Stu's group found them. "We'd already planned our escape, but them showing up when they did gave us the impetus to do it."
"Holy shit," Larry said.
"Someone else the flu shoulda chosen," Stu said with a glower.
"But it didn't," said Kai. "He needs people too." She glanced around at the group. "I assume all of us dreamed of Mother Abagail, and also of Flagg?"
Stu gave a grim nod. "Since early on. Nightmares got real bad just before we got here, but they seem to've eased up some."
Rae glanced at Kai. "You should tell them," she said.
She looked at Nick, who nodded. "It's time."
"Tell us what?" Frannie said. "Is it about Flagg?"
"Sort of," Kai said. "It's about a dream I had back in Pratt." She drew in a long breath and explained everything she could remember about the dream, how they'd all been there before she'd ever seen their faces, and the offer Flagg had made.
Larry looked pale under his dark skin, and Stu's brilliant blue eyes were wide. Glen just scowled. "Bullshit. He's full of shit! He was just trying to get under your skin, Kai, and clearly it worked!"
"Frannie and I weren't there?" Susan said with a frown.
Kai shook her head. "Nope. I don't know why. Maybe—Frannie hadn't come with us because she's pregnant, and you stayed behind, too, because you're the only one who knows how the power plant works."
"Musicians and sociology professors are a lot more disposable than engineers," Glen muttered, but not with any kind of resentment.
Nick waved a hand to get their attention, and Kai translated as he signed. "The point is he knew all of our faces. He knew we would be important to this place. Now we get this list from Mom A that's all of us, plus Susan and Fran. Clearly whatever his agenda in sending Kai that dream, he got at least part of it right. For some weird reason, we matter here. To Mom A, and to her God. Who I don't believe in, by the way. Just to clear that up."
Larry snorted. "That makes two of us, brother, but I guess my ma's preacher was right all along. Cuz here we are, and there he is, and Mother Abagail claims God's pullin' all the strings."
"I don't know about any God," Glen said. "All I know is I don't like this." She grabbed the list off the table and waved it. "Is this America or isn't it? An old lady can just dream up a list of names and suddenly we're in charge? That's not very democratic!"
Stu leaned forward. "Hate to break it to you, professor, but this ain't America, not anymore. It's a new world now, and I guess a new way of doin' things."
"Glen isn't wrong, though," Susan said. "We can't just announce that suddenly we're in charge. That's not right. What if people don't like it? What if they have other ideas?"
"Well…" Larry cleared his throat. "From what I've seen, as the newest one here, you guys sort of are in charge. You got here first. You're doing most of the organizing. Susan's working out at the power plant, Rae's got the cleanup crews, Stu's the general greeter, almost like a mayor. Frannie's working on the school. Kai runs the welcome sessions, Nick has the pantry, and Glen's building the library of useful post-apocalyptic how-to books."
They all looked around at each other, realizing Larry was right. "We—were the first ones here," Frannie said. "Someone had to do something."
He held up a hand. "That's what I'm sayin'. Someone had to do something, and you stepped up. All Mother Abagail wants you to do is keep steppin' up. All I've heard since I got here is Ask Stu or Ask Rae or Ask Kai. Fill in the blank on the name, and they're sitting in this room. They see you as leaders. She just wants to make it formal."
"Clearly she sees that potential in you, Larry," Rae said.
"Yeah, well. She's old," he mumbled.
Nick grinned. "You can't have it both ways. Either she knows what she's doing and you belong on this committee as much as the rest of us, or she's old and senile. You seem to be leaning toward the former, so you might as well just accept it."
He scowled down at his empty pie plate, but eventually gave a grudging shrug. "I guess so. I don't like it, but I guess so."
"Back to Glen's point," Stu said. "While it's not America, she is right. There's this town meetin', and I think we should use it to let people vote. We're small enough still to do that, right?" he said with a glance at Kai.
She nodded. "Yeah, a direct vote would work. But—are we opening the floor to nominations?"
"We have to," Susan said. "Otherwise it's just not fair."
"What if they nominate someone we don't like?" Nick said.
Glen snorted. "Well there ya go! We'll just rig the vote! Five minutes in and we're reinventing politics!"
"No one said that, Glen," Frannie said, her tone even. "I can't really think of anyone right offhand I would be opposed to."
"What about Harold?" Stu said.
A silence fell. Heavy.
Larry looked around, confused. "What about Harold?" he said. "His signs were ingenious. I've heard good things around town about him, too, and he was here just as early as the rest of you. I was surprised not to see his name on the list."
"He's only sixteen," Fran said. "Or…maybe seventeen. I forget when his birthday is. Anyway, he's young. That's probably why she left him out."
Nick and Kai exchanged a look. He lifted a brow. She gave a minute shake of her head.
"We could limit it to over eighteen," Susan said. "Not to specifically exclude Harold, but just because it makes sense."
"That's an idea," Stu said. He frowned. Finished off his beer and set the bottle aside. "We might just be borrowin' trouble, though. And Larry's right: Harold's smart as hell. We could do worse for an ideas-man."
"Let's leave it," Kai said. She wasn't sure why. "We'll open the floor to nominations and see what happens. If Larry's right, it won't matter much anyway."
Larry relaxed a bit, because he was sure that would get him out of having to serve. The only people who knew him were his own group, and they wouldn't nominate him. Surely. And even if they did, he'd never get enough votes.
"I guess that's our first decision as the ad-hoc Boulder Free Zone Committee," Stu said.
"To many more like it," Rae said, lifting her glass.
"May Mother Abagail's God have mercy on us," Glen said.
Aug. 16
"So we have to dress up?" Nick said with a scowl. It was the day of the meeting, and he'd closed up the pantry early to get ready. He'd found Kai at home when he'd gotten there, and after a few brief hello kisses (far too few for Nick's liking), they now stood in front of the mirror in their bedroom discussing the evening's agenda.
She came up behind him and put her arms around his waist. He looked down to see her hands as she said, "You don't have to wear a tux, but I think we should look nice. We're being introduced as the committee."
His frown deepened and he turned to face her. "I'm hoping no one nominates me and that'll just be temporary."
"I already promised I wouldn't, love. You don't have to glare at me."
He sighed and his expression eased. "I know. I'm sorry. This is just—stressful."
"I know, baby." She stroked his upper arms with her palms and squeezed the muscles there. Lifted a brow and squeezed again. "Someone's been working out."
"Don't try to distract me."
"I'm not! You're distracting me with these guns!"
He grinned a little. "Well, yeah. Now that I'm not dying and can eat and all the work I've been doing since we left Arkansas. I told you before I didn't used to be so skinny."
She looked up into his face. Touched his cheek with light fingers. He was so familiar to her, after so short a time. She traced the lines of his forehead. The sharp cheekbone. The prominent slope of his nose. The full width of his moth. "Man, I really hit the apocalypse buddy lottery, didn't I?" she said with a soft smile.
He grabbed her around the waist and gave her a long kiss. "You sure as hell did." He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eye. She ran her hands through his hair, down his back. After a long, quiet moment, he let out a resigned sigh and pulled away just enough to free his hands. "So I guess I should figure out something to wear."
"I like that purple shirt you wore the other day."
His brows quirked in agreement. He liked that shirt too. "Do I have to wear a tie?"
"That might be overkill. But we should probably both wash our hair."
He tucked a lock of hers behind her ear and kissed her nose. "I'll help you with yours if you help me with mine."
"Deal. Hey, I love you. And for what it's worth, I think you'd be amazing on the committee."
His lips twitched. "I love you too, and you're very sweet. But possibly misguided."
They'd all agreed that once they worked things out about the committee, the next priority at the community meeting was figuring out how to get the water back on. Susan said electricity had to come first, because nothing at the water processing plant could work without it, and she could really use some help with that. So they rearranged their priorities.
Now Kai and Nick labored over several buckets as they "bathed" and washed their hair, and Kai was glad she'd cut it in her fit of mourning. She was thinking of cutting it again, but without the fit this time.
The meeting was being held on campus, start time 7:30 PM, and by 6:45 they were both ready. He paused when he saw her, a sudden catch in his chest. She wore an emerald green dress, sleeveless, caught in at the waist with a flowing skirt that came to just below the knee. Her hair was twisted up onto her head, she had one makeup, and she wore strappy gold sandals with 3-inch heels.
"Wow," he said.
"Yeah?" She blushed a little and twitched the skirt. "I don't usually wear…dresses." She made a face. "I guess I am kinda butch."
He grinned. "Whatever you are, you're gorgeous."
"I've got no time for your flattery, Andros." But she paused to kiss him so that when it broke apart she had to go fix her lipstick and he had to wipe his face.
They stepped outside and joined the trickle of people headed to the meeting. The trickle increased to a flow as they got closer, and the group was laughing and chatting. Someone had a ball they were throwing around. Music played.
It was a summer picnic atmosphere. Carefree and light, and probably the most relaxed any of them had been since June. The other members of the committee joined them as they walked, but they'd agreed ahead of time not to sit together. They didn't want to look like a block.
Rae and a small group of volunteers were already at the hall when the crowd started to arrive. They had solar-powered generators going so that there were lights, a sound system, and cold refreshments. Everyone mingled, sipping punch, until Stu and Rae started herding them inside.
It took some time for the seats to fill up—it was a beautiful night and no one wanted to come inside—but eventually the hall was full to the point that some people were standing in the back. Stu stood awkwardly on the stage, hating every second of this, and wondering how the hell he got nominated to lead the meeting. He was a high school dropout from East Texas, not some—community leader!
He cleared his throat and tapped the mic, jumping a little at the noise. "Uh, hey," he said into it. Feedback squealed. He pulled back, frowned, and tried again. "Hey, y'all, I think it's about time to get started."
Quiet fell almost instantly. Stu looked out at the sea of faces and felt his face go red. His collar felt too tight. How'd he let Frannie talk him into wearing a tie?! He felt like every single person out there could see through him, could recognize his doubt and uncertainty, could tell how out of place he was, how out of his depth.
His gaze fell on Frannie in the front row, and she gave him a soft, reassuring smile. It slipped over him like a balm, and a large portion of his fear drained away.
"Well. Alright, then. Hey, y'all, my name is Stu Redman from Arnette, Texas. I think I've met most of y'all, if not everybody. I try to say hey to every group as they come in, but lately it's been pretty busy. If we haven't met yet, feel free to find me after the meetin' and say hey."
He cleared his throat again. Smiled a little. "Okay, well, Rae was nice enough to print us out a whole stack of agendas, so you'll see that the top of the list is approvin' the Boulder Free Zone Committee. That's gonna be the sort of, uh, governin' body, I guess, around here for a while. Until we come up with somethin' better."
There was a brief titter of laughter, then silence fell again. Jesus they were so quiet.
"Uh, anyway, lemme introduce everybody on that list, for those of you who might be new. Like I said, I'm Stu Redman. Next is Nick Andros, from Nebraska. Stand up, Nicky."
Kai signed it to him, and with a puzzled frown Nick rose to his feet.
"After that we got Glen Bateman from Woodsville, New Hampshire. She's not as grumpy as she pretends to be, I promise. Then Rae Brenter from Pratt, Kansas."
He went through the list name by name, until the whole committee was standing. Kai grabbed Nick's hand and squeezed, and before Stu could say anything else, a voice piped up from a few rows in front of them.
"Mr. Chairman! Mr. Chairman?!"
Stu and Fran exchanged startled looks. "Uh. Chair recognizes—Harold Lauder," Stu said.
Harold stood, a big grin on his face. "Mr. Chairman, I move that we accept Mother Abagail's Boulder Free Zone Committee as it stands, in toto."
Nick stared in horror as Kai translated. Larry glanced over at them, eyes huge in his face. "What?!" he mouthed.
"Uh." Stu was nonplussed. "Uh, well—uh. Judge Farris, can we, uh, do that?"
"Sure we can," he said, pushing to his feet. "And I think it's a damn fine idea. Seconded!"
"Okay." Stu scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Well, I guess—moved and seconded. Uh, all in favor?"
There was a roar of approval that startled them all. Stu blinked. "Uh, well. All opposed?"
Silence.
"Sounds like the ayes have it," Judge Farris said. "Motion passed."
Each member of the newly sworn-in Boulder Free Zone Committee felt stunned, and all but Stu stank back into their seats with shell-shocked expressions.
"Fuck," Nick signed, emphatically, and Kai nodded agreement.
They'd been worried about Harold objecting to the nominations. It hadn't occurred to anyone that he'd be the one to get them elected.
Kai shivered. Some part of her couldn't help but wonder what his game was. That was unfair. He had seemed sincerely supportive. It was Kai's own mistrusting nature that made her so suspicious of Harold. She needed to get the fuck over it and stop second-guessing everything he did.
She looked up, and through the crowd she saw Harold, his eyes fixed on her with an expression she couldn't interpret. Hunger? Anger? Simple indifference? She wasn't sure, but it was cold, and hard, and she groped for Nick's hand and squeezed tight.
Harold's mouth moved in a smile that didn't meet his eyes, and he offered a little nod before turning to face forward again.
Nick gave her a nudge, his mouth tense with worry, but she just shook her head. "I'll tell you later," she signed. Meanwhile Stu was calling her up to give her little spiel about the welcome sessions. She pressed a quick kiss to Nick's cheek, let go of his hand, and slipped away.
decided to give a little pov from someone other than Nick or Kai. it's not gonna happen much, since this is essentially their story, but ya know. sometimes. for kicks.