RED vs. BLUE
REVIVE
CHAPTER 9: AMONGST THE CHAOS
Tucker threw his chair, which bounced and slid across the floor. Grif grabbed his sister and pulled her back, watching Tucker yell in rage. Kaikaina could actually be felt trembling under her brother's hand. She had never seen Tucker get so mad.
"THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!" Tucker screamed and slammed his fists into the table.
"Tucker, calm down!" Carolina ordered.
"No! This is YOUR fault!" Tucker screamed. Carolina was taken back.
"How is it my fault?" She asked, pointing a finger to herself.
"You should have let me kill him back when we first fought them!" Tucker was nearly spitting from the amount of anger that flowed through him. The veins in his neck bulged.
"I prevented you from killing him because you're not a murderer, Tucker!" Carolina said, stepping closer to him. She was getting ready to square off with him. "What would that have solved?!"
"It would have prevented him from doing this!" Tucker screamed back, and then Wash intervened. Wash stared into Tucker's eyes, unmoving.
"You need to step down and step back. Take a breather. Go to your room and relax." Wash ordered. Tucker was nearly nose-to-nose with Wash. His jaw clenched as he looked like he was about to argue, but he glanced back at Carolina, then the rest of the room. His eyes went back to Wash, and then he turned on his heels and stormed off.
Kimball was talking in the other room, and her voice suddenly went quiet. She came back to the table, looking teary-eyed.
"I'm sorry to say... but Ms. Andrews was found dead." Kimball swallowed back some tears.
"They meant what they said in the letter." Wash growled.
"We need to warn Jaxs. Get him here." Carolina stated.
"And Doc!" Donut gasped. "Oh God!" Donut's hands rose to his head. "I need to call him!" Kimball nodded.
"I'll call and send a car to pick them both up and bring them here." Kimball motioned for Donut to follow her to her room, so that they could make the appropriate calls.
The rest of the team stood in silent; stunned.
"Those bastards aren't going to get away with this." Carolina stated. She rubbed her eyes and looked up, but not looking at anyone. "I'm going to my quarters, if anyone needs anything." She walked away quickly to her room and the sound of the door could be heard slamming shut.
"I don't like all this yelling." Caboose admitted.
"It's okay, Caboose." Virginia reassured him and rubbed his upper back. "Sometimes, people need to yell because it's the only way they can express their emotions. It may sound like anger, but it's really love." Virginia explained. Caboose listened, and then nodded.
"That makes sense."
Wash cleared his throat, looking unsure of what to do.
"I'm… gonna go check on Carolina." Wash announced, and then walked away solemnly before calling back to his peers. "Get some rest, everyone."
Grif broke the awkward silence first.
"I'm going to raid the fridge for food." He walked in the direction of the kitchen.
"What a surprise." Said Kaikaina sarcastically. "But, I could eat something, too." She followed behind her brother.
"Dinner is actually sounding like a good idea. We hadn't eaten yet." Sarge said with a sigh. "I hate to admit it when Grif is right." He grumbled. Everyone nodded and walked to the kitchen.
Simmons opened a cabinet and pulled out a box of pasta.
"I'm going to make-up some mac 'n cheese if anybody wants to partake." Simmons announced.
"That sounds delightful." Virginia admitted.
"Aw hell yea." Grif said with excitement.
"You got to help me cook it, though." Simmons smirked as he pointed at Grif.
"Aw fuck." Grif threw his hands down in refusal. Simmons motioned for Virginia and Kaikaina to take a seat. He thought about what Tucker had said earlier, 'Just be yourself'. Well, Simmons liked to cook, and wanted to show off his culinary skills, even though mac 'n cheese from scratch wasn't that impressive.
As Simmons stirred the pot, Kimball and Donut had come into the kitchen.
"Alright, so Jaxs and Doc are picked up and on their way." Kimball announced.
"That's some good news." Virginia said with a sigh of relief. Kimball nodded as Donut joined them at the table.
"Ms. Kimball, would you like some mac 'n cheese?" offered Simmons.
"No, thank you. I'll probably eat later when my appetite returns." Kimball admitted. She smiled at everyone. "I'm going to go to my room. If anything comes up, please feel free to come get me."
"Good night." Everyone said as she walked off.
"It must be tough to be President." Caboose stated.
Lopez stated something in Spanish, before going off to his own room.
After a few minutes of Simmons ordering Grif to stir before the cheese burnt, the mac 'n cheese was finished and Simmons scooped out the helpings to everyone.
"It smells awesome." Kai stated.
"Thanks, sister." Simmons beamed.
"Holy hell, Simmons. You could make for a nice housewife someday." Grif joked. Simmons wacked Grif along his back, nearly knocking Grif's bowl out of his hands. "HEY!"
Virginia, Kai and Donut giggled. Simmons scooped up a few extra bowls in his hand, and announced to the room that he'd be right back.
He stood outside of Carolina's room for a moment, before knocking on it. The odor of cheese made his tummy rumble.
"Carolina. Wash. It's Simmons." The door creaked opened and Carolina stood in the doorway. "I made some food. Figured you two would be hungry." Simmons offered the bowls to her. Carolina smiled.
"Thank you, Simmons. We appreciate it." Wash came up behind Carolina and accepted a bowl.
"A true gentleman." Wash smiled and nodded his head to Simmons. "Thank you." They retreated into her room, and Simmons went back to the kitchen to get another bowl, and this time, made his way to Tucker's room.
Simmons knocked with his knuckle, and it took a few seconds before Tucker opened.
"What?" Tucker asked, looking exhausted.
"I made some food." Tucker forced a half-smile and took it.
"Thanks, man." He then motioned for Simmons to come into his room. Simmons was reluctant at first, because he was hungry, but he decided to humor his friend. "Sooo… you going to make any moves on Virginia?" Tucker asked before scooping a bunch of mac into his mouth. Simmons blushed and darted his eyes to the wall.
"I… don't… know." Simmons struggled to find the words. Tucker groaned.
"It's not that hard. Look, just ask her questions. Get her to talk about herself. Girls love that shit." Simmons nodded, making mental notes in his head.
"Also, tell her how pretty she looks. Girls eat that stuff up. They like to be complimented. Just, don't be weird about it." Tucker said as he scooped up another mouthful of macaroni.
"How would I make it weird?"
"I dunno, bringing up Sarge and kissing ass or something." Tucker winced. "Or boring her with science shit." Simmons rolled his eyes.
"I promise I won't bring up Sarge or anything of the like." He began to turn to leave the room, feeling partially insulted.
"And Simmons?" Simmons paused and glanced over his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"Don't be a nerd." Simmons lips pressed flat together and he shut the door angrily.
Kaikaina and Virginia were laughing hysterically. Grif was blushing and not removing his eyes from his food. Simmons finally joined to the table, seeing that the girls were enjoying their food with a glass of wine.
"What's so funny?" Simmons asked, finally getting to taste his own cooking.
"We were just talking about guys we've… had interests in." Kaikaina giggled. "Dates that have gone wrong, you know? Stuff like that." Simmons felt squeamish, unsure if he wanted to hear of Virginia's escapades. Did she have a lot of experience?
"I'm sorry Kai, but you definitely have me beat with… experience." Virginia said as she swigged her drink.
"You ever…?" Kaikaina whispered into Virginia's ear, and she nearly spat out her drink.
"I definitely have not done that." Virginia admitted.
"What?! A bad ass killer like yourself?"
"Freelancer's honor. Never have." Virginia said. Simmons couldn't help but keep listening to their conversation; hoping to pick up on whatever they were gossiping about.
"What's your type, anyway?" Kaikaina asked as she took a sip of her wine. "Probably the jock types, with big muscles?! Guys that like to work out all the time?" She suggested. Virginia smiled and shook her head. Simmons could see she was blushing.
"Actually, I've always had a thing for... nerds." Simmons began to cough as the food went down the wrong pipe.
"Breathe, Simmons!" Donut started slapping him in the back.
"Geez, dude! Don't die!" Grif stated as he watched his team mate turn red.
"I'm… okay." Simmons said as he took the bottle of wine and swigged it. "Just… the wrong pipe."
"I was ready to give you the Heimlich." Donut admitted with a tone of concern.
"Don't. You. Dare." Simmons warned and sipped the bottle again.
"Anyway, you don't seem like you're into the nerd stuff." Kaikana continued the conversation.
"Well, I like smart guys. They're cute. Shy. Intelligent. They can hold a conversation. And what's truly hot, is watching as they speak about something they truly know. You see passion in their eyes. Plus, I was a bit of an outcast myself in school." Virginia said as she looked dreamingly off into the ceiling.
"How so?" Simmons asked curiously.
"I was… one of the art kids. Anti-social." Virginia explained, then she refilled her wine glass with more wine.
"I like art." Caboose admitted as he finished his bowl of macaroni. "That was good, Simmons. Thank you." Caboose went and cleaned his dish, before bidding everyone a good night and venturing off to bed.
"I'm going to stay up and wait for Doc and Jaxs to get here. They should arrive within the hour." Donut said as he went to the sink to clean his dish. "Thanks for dinner, Simmons."
Donut disappeared into the living room area and sprawled across the coach, staring at the door impatiently.
Simmons gave an approving nod. Grif stretched and rubbed a sleepy eye. He had three helpings of macaroni, and Simmons was grateful he used the biggest container to make it all.
"Yeah, it was good. I'm gonna hit the hay. Good night all." He leaned in close to his sister. "And take it easy with the drinking, you lush."
"Blow me." Kai threatened. Grif's face contorted into disgust and walked off. After Grif disappeared, Kai put her bowl away and grabbed some beer from the fridge.
"I'm gonna go pay Tucker a visit." She admitted with a smile. "Good niiiight." She walked off, humming happily.
Virginia chuckled and went to the sink to clean up. Simmons came up beside her to do the same.
"Yes, thank you for dinner. I was quite hungry." Virginia said honestly.
"You're welcome." Simmons smiled. She turned and began to walk away, before Simmons called out to her.
"H-Hey, Virginia?" Virginia looked over her shoulder.
"Hmm?"
"W-Want…to… go to my room?" Simmons nearly choked on the words. Donut was peeking over the couch, watching the interaction. Virginia forced a smile as het eyes looked away.
"Sorry, Simmons. Not tonight." Her tone seemed sad, asif she were being cautious.
"Oh okay, sure! No problem!" Simmons said, swatting his hand at the air. He tried not to choke on his words.
Virginia walked off to her room; the door clicking shut behind her.
"Smooooth." Donut said from the couch. Simmons' face burned with embarrassment.
"S-Shut up, Donut!" Simmons snapped, shoving his chair into the table.
"Calm yourself, mister." Donut huffed as he stood up. "Your approach was all wrong"
"You don't know what you're talking about, Donut." Simmons walked off and rushed to his room before Donut could get another word in.
He shut his door and dropped into his bed - face first. He buried his face into his pillow and groaned.
Was Tucket wrong? Did I read it all wrong?" Of course, I did. I'm stupid. Stupid, Simmons."
Simmons rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling; replaying the previous night in his head. Simmons heart sank as the anxiety began to eat away at him.
"Who would like a nerd?"
He rolled on his side, facing the wall. He caught a whiff of Virginia's conditioner on the pillow, and in that moment, Simmons hated himself entirely.
"Dad was right."
