Wow, it's been a while... Sorry for the wait. I hope you'll enjoy it ;)
"Legend said you were sick," Jeff explained.
"Oh, and you just believed him?"
"You have a fever!"
"That's because you've put twenty blankets on me!" Vivienne screamed back. "What time is it?" She scratched her forehead. Sun was delivering sunlight to the hut rather forcefully, and Vi swore she heard Gally's yell outside.
"Well... Lunch was an hour ago," Jeff told her, "I can bring you something to eat."
"I'm not hungry - thanks," she scoffed. The whole situation seemed rather odd. Why would they let her stay and do nothing all day? Didn't Alby have anything against it? Or at least Gally? "Can I go?"
"If you feel well enough," Clint said, scratching the back of his neck.
"I'll see you later then." Vivienne almost ran out of the Medjacks' hut. She decided to hit the kitchen first to get out an explanation from Legend. The boy didn't really bother to tell her anything,
"I did ya a favor, Greybeard." He shrugged mindlessly. "You were exhausted and looking..."
"C'mon, finish that, shank!" Frypan walked in, "I wanna see Vi rip you to shreds after you do."
"Hey, Fry." Vivienne smiled.
"Hey there, Vivi. You feeling any better?"
"I didn't even feel bad. Legend made something up so I could sleep longer, but he forgot to ask for my consent," she quickly explained.
"And you're complaining? You clearly haven't been here long enough." He left her wondering what he meant for the rest of the day.
She barely convinced Minho to train with her that evening as he was one of many who believed Legend. She wondered how he managed to trick all of them so easily.
"Clint and Jeff said you had a fever."
"Is that concern I'm hearing? Gosh, baby, I'm touched! But seriously try not having one after a ton of blankets," she complained yet again that day.
"So still yourself I see," Minho mocked and straightened his back, preparing for an attack.
"What is that supposed to mean?" She threw a punch at him but missed. He shrugged mindlessly and asked her to strike again.
"Newt's not coming today?" she asked after a while of silence.
"I'm not his babysitter - how do I know?" She didn't ask him anything else.
That evening Ben didn't show up at her chambers and she fell asleep rather quickly - both exhausted and relieved. Yet, she was not prepared for what the upcoming day had in mind for her.
It started peacefully with no sign of anything going wrong - she woke Legend up and in return got some tea, she drew a new project for Gally and hang out with Ryker and Peter - he slightly annoyed her as usual.
"I just have no idea how they do it," Peter complained.
"As disgusting as it is they are the reason Fry can put anything in our plates," Vivienne decided to defend slicers.
"Still... It's... I puked a minute after the begging of my trial!"
"Probably like half of the guys around here," she tried to laugh the awkwardness off.
"But I'm the only one he hates!"
"Maybe that's because you apologized to him thirty times!" Ryker chimed in.
"Thirty times?!" Vi squealed, "Holy shuck, are you serious? Peter, you can't just go around and annoy people like that!"
"I just wanted him not to be mad at him," poor boy contradicted.
"But by the time you apologized twice, he must have forgotten what the fuss was all about!"
Soon they left for lunch, dismissing the topic completely - it too got annoying. She wasn't even that hungry, so she left her companions and wandered back to her hat.
"...a problem!" Vivienne heard a yell. She should have ignored it and keep on walking, but instead, she decided to find the source. A bit deeper into the Deadheads led her so well-known British accent.
"No, your behavior is a bloody problem! Can't you see that ever since Nick-"
"Don't you dare bring him into this!" The voices grew louder, and Vivienne watched her steps not to give away she was eavesdropping.
"You gotta face it, Alby! You're the shucking leader, but all you do is mop around all day for months, barely speaking to anyone!"
"I do not!"
"The only reason this place hasn't fallen apart yet is because of the order that we established! But with you acting out-"
"I'm acting out?" She could almost taste the bitter taste of Alby's rage on her tongue. "May I remind you what you did all those months back? You were supposed to help around, instead, you took an easy way out!"
"Alby!" She sensed a warning in Newt's livid tone. She felt a need to step in before someone decided to throw the first punch.
"And instead of setting an example you go around breaking rules-"
"Hi, guys," Vivienne said cheerfully, hoping they would stop for her sake. "Everything alright here?"
"Yeah," said Alby with a frown, his glare focused entirely on Newt. "'S fine." He walked away, almost bumping into her on his way.
"How much have you heard?" Newt asked rubbing his face.
"Nothing." Oh, he would never buy her crap. "I just heard screaming and decided to check it out." Newt stared at her obviously not fooled, but he didn't press any further.
"Why are you here anyway?"
"I was just going back to my hat," she shrugged.
"C'mon then," he smiled weakly, "I'll walk you."
"I heard you were sick," he started.
"Legend just made something up.
"Did he? Clint and Jeff seemed concerned..."
"Perks of having boobs I guess," she tried to laugh the seriousness of his tone off.
"I doubt you're just that to them. Well, you're not to me, anyway..." he rubbed the back of his neck as she smiled.
"I hope so. We have Minho and builders for that."
"Builders?" The moment he asked was when she realized she had never really confided in anyone about what she heard them say. "They giving ya trouble?"
"No," she shook her head, "It's... nothing."
"Then obviously it's something." Vi gave him the look. "What? I might have had my memory taken away but I know basics of how the world functions."
"So this means everytime I say nothing's up you'll doubt me?"
"Just tell me... Am I wrong?" He wasn't. "You know you can always tell me, right? Or Gally. He would have their heads in seconds."
"And he would actually enjoy it."