Here is the next chapter! I know, I know...it's pretty short compared to what we're used to. But the next chapter might run a bit long, so I thought you guys could use a break. Ryan is next chapter! Also, the main POV will be Jack for next chapter. As always, enjoy!
"Hey, Liz?"
Elizabeth frowns at the familiar nickname, wondering how many times she'd have to tell him that wasn't her name before he got the memo. "It's Elizabeth. And yes?"
"What did you want to tell me?"
At this, Elizabeth stops in her tracks, peering curiously over her shoulder at her friend, who looks back just as curiously. "What do you mean?"
Jack seems to falter for a moment, looking away and fiddling with his fingers. "Earlier…" he says quietly, then stops, clearly wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to continue. He seems to decide on the positive, as he takes a deep breath before continuing, though this time, he isn't mumbling. "Earlier, you told me you needed to tell me something. What did you need to tell me?"
Elizabeth is taken aback. She is genuinely confused, tilting her head and squinting as if those two actions will make her remember what she had forgotten. What had she needed to tell him?
Suddenly, it comes to her in a wave of guilt and panic-Fontaine. Elizabeth's heart begins to race as she realizes what he must mean; he must be talking about when Elizabeth was going to tell him everything, right before the Luteces showed up and ruined her plans. She had been trying to warn him about Fontaine's plans for him, hadn't she? But she hadn't succeeded-and now, she couldn't, not without risking the stability of this universe. She wonders if that makes her selfish-it probably does. Strangely enough, however, she doesn't really give a damn about the universe-all she wants is to keep Jack safe. She can't really do that if the universe he lives in is crumbling, though.
"It's...nothing." is all she can manage without sounding as guilty as she feels. When she sees the expectant look on Jack's face following her statement, she realizes, with dread, that he expects her to elaborate. How is she supposed to do that without giving anything away, though? She decides to improvise.
"Listen, uh. I-I don't really have any…" Friends? Friends seems like a good bet. She'll go with that. "...friends. It's nothing personal, really-well, okay, maybe it is. I don't really trust people, as you've seen firsthand, and I'm not the type of girl to run on blind faith. But," she adds quickly, because Jack looks like he wants to interrupt, "For some reason, Jack, I trust you."
Jack shouldn't be surprised-they've come this far together, haven't they? Though everything-the Splicers, the Big Daddies, Ryan's numerous attempts on both of their lives, and, of course, the numerous other things that have tried to kill them-through everything, they've stuck together. So Jack really shouldn't be surprised that Elizabeth is telling him this now-except, he has the most adorable wide-eyed look on his face, like someone just told him that he's getting a puppy for Christmas. He grins, making Elizabeth wonder how a grown man could look like such an innocent child.
"You trust me?" he says, sounding in awe. Elizabeth, at first, thinks he's messing with her-another way to get on her nerves, like he's done so many times before-but then she looks at him again, and she sees nothing but honesty in those big, brown eyes.
"Yeah. I guess I do. For some reason."
His grin falls to a small smile then, and he suddenly looks sheepish as looks away and rubs the side of his neck. "I, ah...I trust you too. For some reason."
Though the feeling of guilt grows even stronger with those words, Elizabeth can't help but give the boy standing in front of her a warm, soft smile as she continues-though she suddenly finds she can't look him in the eye as she does so. "Thanks. I...that means a lot. To me." She tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she speaks-a nervous habit of hers that she'd developed during her previous time here, before this whole mess had even begun. Before she'd met Comstock, and Sally, and Fontaine, and Suchong, and screwed both herself and her only friend to hell. At the thought of Jack, her stomach churns, and she absentmindedly brings her pinky to in between her index finger and her thumb and squeezes-another nervous habit, though this one was developed long before she had met even Booker.
Jack is speaking now-Elizabeth forces herself to concentrate on what he's saying, still worrying her pinky between her fingers as she stares at his face, trying to focus more on his words than his lips-
"-you don't look so good, is all I'm saying. Are you feeling okay?"
"Uh. Yeah. I'm-I'm feeling okay. This-talking about feelings, I mean-is kind of draining." She stumbles around her words, and internally she cringes. She knows that can't have sounded good.
Jack chuckles anyways, making Elizabeth's heart skip a beat-she's quick to scold herself for that one. "Yeah, it really is. Wouldn't it be great if we never had to discuss our feelings again?"
Elizabeth nods, glad that he hadn't picked up on her lie. Another one, she reminds herself. "It'd be the best," she says, far too cheerily for her liking.
Another awkward silence ensues-they haven't had one of those in a long time. Neither one of them knows what to say, it seems-Jack won't look at her, instead finding the wet, moldy floor of far greater interest, and Elizabeth is too distracted by...other things at the moment to think of something to say.
It's Jack who finally decides to break the silence. "So, you mean it? You trust me? We're friends?"
Elizabeth can feel her face flush and her heart nearly stop at the implication. "I never said anything about friends," she says sharply, and immediately regrets it as she watches Jack's hopeful expression fall and be replaced with a disappointed one.
"...Oh. I-I thought-"
Elizabeth shakes her head quickly, trying to remedy the situation before it's too late. "No no no, it's fine-"
"I mean, I really thought-"
"I just-what I meant was-"
"I didn't mean to-"
"-We could! I mean, we are. Definitely. I trust you, and in a firefight, there's no one I'd rather have at my side. It's just that everyone I care about ends up getting killed, and...well, I care about you. So you can kind of see why I'm a bit apprehensive about the whole thing." It's the truth. Granted, it's not the truth she had meant to tell him (and had been planning to tell him ever since they met), but it's still a truth, and one that Elizabeth hadn't realized herself until she'd said it out loud. It's all she can do to not let her knees give out beneath her and collapse on the floor at this point.
At her last words, Jack's face had changed from embarrassed and shy to cautious and worried. Elizabeth can't help but notice how often his face looks like that. But now, he smiles, a bit too cheekily for Elizabeth's liking. "Liz, I get it. Really, I do. But I can take care of myself, okay? You don't need to worry about me. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
Elizabeth knows that he's trying to make her feel better, but the only thing he accomplishes (unknowingly, of course) is getting Elizabeth to feel even worse than she had a moment ago. But she doesn't show it; instead, she gives a small smile. "Then I guess it wouldn't hurt to call you a friend."
"I guess not."
Elizabeth feels another strong pang of guilt and fear at the warm smile that follows his statement. I have to tell him, she thinks. She has to. At this moment, right here and right now, she doesn't give a damn about this universe, or how she might destroy it by telling Jack, her friend, her only friend, how's he nothing but a pawn on a chessboard. She doesn't care that it might disrupt the multiverse as a whole. She doesn't care if the Luteces show up again and try to prevent her from telling Jack; she's not going to listen. She's going to tell him everything. It's now or never, she thinks, as she opens her mouth to say something along the lines of, "Jack, I need to tell you something else. I've been lying to you this whole time, and I'm really sorry, but now I have to tell you the truth," but nothing comes out. She feels her throat close up; she can't speak. Oh, God, why can't she speak? Why can't she say anything? Why can't she stop lying to him? She knows if she doesn't tell him now, she'll never get the chance, and Jack will find out all on his own. He'll be upset, for sure-not only at Atlas-Fontaine-but at Ryan, and at her, for not telling him. She knows that if she lets him go now, go to Ryan, he won't die, but he'll come close, and once Ryan is dead, there is no doubt in Elizabeth's mind that that is when Atlas will betray him. Atlas knows she's here, too-knows that she's been lying to Jack almost as long as he has, and he'll no doubt use that to his advantage when gloating about how he tricked Jack into doing his bidding. ELizabeth shudders involuntarily at the thought, which, surprisingly, doesn't catch Jack's attention as he pries open the door that will lead them to Rapture's Central Control Center. She tries again, forcing herself to speak through her nervousness and the numerous voices in her head telling her that, no, that's a bad idea: "Jack-"
"Boyo, Ryan won't wait forever. Would you kindly hurry it up and get to his office?"
Jack doesn't respond, but he does get that glazed look in his eye, like he always does whenever Atlas use those three words. Those three dreadful words.
Another interruption. Another time where she could have told him, but yet again, her plans were foiled. Elizabeth is close to a mental breakdown at this point, but she doesn't show it, stoic as ever-another thing she must have inherited from Booker. She wonders, for a brief moment, if Booker had ever felt the way she was feeling right now -then remembers that the Booker she knew didn't exist anymore, and she's one inch closer to breaking down right here and now and sobbing.
"After you," someone says, causing her to jump and reach for her crossbow. She calms down immediately once she realizes that it's simply Jack, grinning as he half-bows and gestures to the now open door.
On the outside, Elizabeth is all smiles, smirking as she comments, "At long last. I was beginning to wonder if you needed my help." But on the inside, she feels nothing but despair and an impending sense of doom. He has no idea. I didn't tell him. And now...now it's too late.
"Even in a book of lies sometimes you find truth. There is indeed a season for all things and now that I see you flesh-to-flesh and blood-to-blood I know I cannot raise my hand against you. But know this, you are my greatest disappointment. Does your master hear me? Atlas! You can kill me, but you will never have my city. My strength is not in steel and fire, that is what the parasites will never understand. A season for all things! A time to live and a time to die, a time to build... And a time to destroy!...Come now, my child. There is one final thing to discuss."
Jack stares at the radio in disbelief. "Well. Isn't he charming."
"He's certainly dramatic."
"Not the point, Liz."
"That's the entire point, what are you talking about?"
"Just-" He raises his hand, stopping her from interrupting. "Let's get this over with, yeah? I can't wait to be shut of this damn place."
Elizabeth looks...concerned, but she nods. "Yeah. Me too. I can't wait to see the sun again…"
"And stay away from water for the rest of my life."
Elizabeth actually laughs at that-it's small, and quiet, but it's still a laugh. Jack can't believe he's never heard her laugh before-but looking back on their previous time together, he can kind of see why that might be. It still makes him smile, though-and gives him that funny feeling again, too.
"Hey, Liz."
Elizabeth turns to him, and Jack sees something that he really doesn't want to see, especially in her eyes-fear. Fear of what, though? Splicers? Ryan? Fear for his life?
That last one makes the most sense-Jack can understand that. He's scared for her life as well. The look is gone as soon as he sees it, however, so he doesn't really have an excuse to ask.
"Yeah?"
"Maybe you should...look. Uhm. I-I kinda need to do this alone."
"What? No!"
Jack jumps at the sudden increase in volume in her voice. "Whoa, what? Why not?"
"I-I didn't mean…" she stammers sheepishly. "Well...Jack, how can you be sure that this isn't a trap? Ryan's obviously waiting for you-what if he planned an ambush or something?"
"You mean I haven't survived ambushes before? Liz, I'm shocked." He puts a hand to his heart mockingly, then puts it down, grinning. "I can handle myself, promise. The real question is: can you? I mean, I'll be gone for a while, so…"
Elizabeth frowns-finally, a familiar expression. "I've survived worse, believe me."
How am I supposed to believe you when you keep lying to me? Honestly, get your facts straight, woman. He doesn't say that, though-instead, he figures his distrust is better warranted somewhere else, like the fact that Ryan may have indeed planned an ambush for him. No doubt he would have, of course-but his companion pointing that out for him was helpful in preparing him. Speaking of which-
"I'm going to need my crossbow back."
Surprisingly, she hands it over with no fuss. But he soons finds out why. "Take it. It's out of ammo, though. You're going to have to get more."
Jack groans. "Oh, are you serious? I just can't catch a break, can I?"
Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "Oh, quit being a baby. Look, there's a Circus of Value over there." She points to, indeed, a Circus of Value sitting in the corner of the rather spacious area. "There's got to be some ammo in there. Also, there's a shotgun over there I think. You might want that."
"Considering you forced me to abandon my other one? Yeah." He can't help the bitterness in his voice as he turns to leave, but Elizabeth doesn't seem to notice, or else she just doesn't care.
"Jack...be careful. Okay? I...I'll be pissed if I have to drag your dead body out of there and into a Vita-Chamber."
Jack grins. "Well, gee, thanks for the idea."
"I mean it. Don't die, okay?"
Jack gives her a thumbs up.
"I'm not going anywhere, remember? I'll come back. Promise."
"You make a lot of those."
"And I keep every one. Don't you die, either, Liz. I want us both to get out of here." Because even though she's lied to him since they met-even though nothing she's told him about her past has added up or made any sense at all, he does trust her. He knows she's his friend, and so no matter what, he'll stand by her. Is that foolish of him? It's downright idiotic. But he can't help it-kind of like how Elizabeth can't help frowning every ten seconds...okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. But still. They're both getting out of there, no matter what it takes.