"Breakfast's ready!" Austin's sing-songy voice rings out through the room, bouncing off every eardrum—including those of the disoriented creepers tied up—outside. Those which still had intact eardrums, that is. He bursts right into Trish's room without a knock prior, which he regrets just a few moments after. "Hope you're hungry, cause I made my world-famous, chunky-chocolate-chip pancaaaa—" his words trail off as he sees not one, but two forms hidden under the covers of the bed. "Uh…" Austin utters, slowly approaching the forms. Tension in his body erupts, not knowing who—or what—could have snuck into the bed of his sleeping friend. His heartbeat thunderous, Austin's quivering hand pulls back the covers slightly on the side of the larger form. He heaves out a weighty sigh at the sight of freshly-washed red hair, but a look of confusion forms on his face.
Dez turns himself around, pulling the blanket off of his face fully, and squinting at the light coming in through the open door. "Morning, buddy," he smiles up at the blond, his pupils contracting as they adjust to the light. He blinks a couple times.
"Dez, why are you in Trish's room?" Austin inquires immediately, unsure of whether or not he actually wants to know the answer. Dez's grimaces, his hand securing against the back of his neck in shame.
"I had a nightmare," he says quietly, pulling the blanket back up over his nose. "I didn't wanna be...alone." Austin smiles, responding with a short laugh. He shouldn't expect anything less from his best friend. "Well, come on. Get up. Wake Trish, too. I made breakfast. Then after, we can start stocking up the truck. I parked it right outside." Dez pulls the blanket down again, settling it just under his chin.
"Now? Can't we sleep in till noon? We were up pretty late, what with my nightmare and all..."
"Trish was awake, too?" Austin cocks a brow. "I mean, I'm sure you woke her up, but she didn't go back to sleep? Doesn't sound like her." Dez grows anxious.
"Uh, uh...I mean, no! When I said we I meant...me," he clarifies, frantically. Ally enters the room, arms crossed, having overheard part of their conversation.
"Really? You said me were up pretty late?" she interrogates him, her face now matching Austin's. A sudden rush of déjà vu passes through her.
"Yup, me did. That's what me said. Well, me is gonna go back to sleep now." Dez ducks back down under the covers, unwilling to answer anymore of their questions. Ally tilts her head, peering over at Trish at the other side of the bed, who'd remains under the covers, idly.
"What about you, Trish?" Ally asks, having yet to hear anything from the other girl. Trish stirs on her side of the bed, then pulls the covers off of her own face. She rubs her eyes with her hands before peering over at Ally. Dez peeks his head back out, a little more calm, but still visibly anxious.
"Sure, I could use some breakfast. Now, get out. I need to put some clothes on," the dark-haired girl mutters, pulling the sheets back up over her bare shoulders, which the others just notice now. Awestruck at her reply, Austin and Ally slowly turn their heads to a red-faced Dez, who quickly plunges himself back down under the comforter. Without another word, they slip out of the room, shocked expressions remaining. Dez sighs, coming back up for air and turning over to face the curly-haired girl.
"Did you have to tell them that?" he groans, nuzzling his reddened face into her neck. She smiles, amused by his sheepishness. Dez isn't often shy about anything, but when he is, the girl can't help but find it strangely endearing.
"Dez, c'mon. They've already seen us kiss. They know we're like a...a thing. Whatever this is. Besides, they can't pretend they haven't been—"
"—Yeah, I don't really want to think about that, either. These hallways echo, and I'm pretty sure they are to blame for my nightmare." She laughs loudly, having to cover her mouth with her hands in order to prevent herself from attracting any more deadheads in the area. Dez remains still, his nose nestled against her neck.
"Are...are you okay, Dez?" she asks him, lightly gliding her fingers through his copper hair. She's confident that she's gotten better at this comforting thing. "I mean, like...last night—"
"—Stop." He pulls his face away from her neck and grins up at her. "I'm good. Great, actually." He places a light kiss on her cheek, and she lets out a relieved sigh. "We should get up, though. Austin's right, we need to start stocking up the truck now. I try not to think about it too much, but I'm really worried about my family. I want to make sure they're okay. My dad's basically an expert at all of this survival stuff, but still. Not knowing for sure is the worst."
"I know what you mean. I've been blocking out my family from my mind, but I can't keep it up anymore. It's hard not to think about them...to worry about them. I don't even want to think about them being anything other than okay." She rubs her hands down her face. "They're okay. They have to be," she chants in a whisper. Dez wraps his arms around her middle and pulls her closer towards him.
"They are," he tries to assure her. "I mean, I'm sure my dad rounded up all of our families and took them to the zombie shelter or something," he says with more confidence. His family's pretty prepared for this exact sort of situation. His dad plays no games when it comes to apocalyptic survival.
"What is this shelter anyway?" she asks, her cheek now pressed up against his bare chest.
"It's basically an old bomb shelter in...actually, under, our backyard. My dad's been keeping it up over the years. It's pretty secure," he explains, sliding himself down the bed a little, kissing her up and across her bare shoulder between words. She smiles, stroking his hair again.
"Lots of water and tuna?"
"You know it." He winks. Trish rolls her eyes, then moves herself onto him. She pushes him down flat on his back and cages him in between her arms. She leans in and kisses him fully on the lips. His hands reach into her hair and he reciprocates for a moment, but pushes her away almost immediately. He caresses her cheek in response to the confusion on her face.
"Uh uh. Not now. We've got things to get done, missy." She scoffs, but obliges, pulling herself off of him and proceeding to pick her clothes up off the ground. He can't help but watch her fondly as she does so.
"So uh...you two—" Dez starts coughing, the milk he just drank going down the wrong pipe, as Austin begins to ask his question. He beats his chest and clears his throat, stopping Austin from trying to pry further.
"—I prefer not to answer that, buddy," he states, raspily. Austin raises his hands in surrender.
"Fair enough." He slides a plate of pancakes towards Dez as he takes a seat. Dez starts on his breakfast immediately; Austin always made the best pancakes—although he's sure his own are a close second. "So, there's plenty stuff here, but we could use more. Who knows what we might come across on the road, right? We saw some really huge infecteds a few times. You up for some scavenging?" Trish walks in, sipping her cup of coffee.
"You're asking the wrong person," she interrupts, setting her cup down onto the table. "I'll help you scavenge, Austin. Dez can help Ally stock up the truck." A strong silence ensues as Dez turns from his breakfast to give her a hard look. Austin scrunches his brows together.
"You...okay with that, Dez?" The blond shifts his eyes back and forth between the two of them, the tension making him even more hungry. He shifts his eyes to the slightly-overcooked pancakes on the stovetop.
"That depends…" Dez starts, his tone perfectly grave. His eyes never leave Trish. "You have to make sure she never leaves your sight. Not even for a second."
"You're seriously on this crap again?" Trish refutes, incredulously. "Dez! If I wanted to run away, I would've done so already. You're not exactly that hard for me to get past." Austin stays silent, letting the two of them hash it out as he turns his focus back onto his faintly-burnt pancakes. Dez grinds his teeth.
"Yeah, me alone, maybe," he admits sharply, between his teeth. Sure, he had his moments, but great physical strength isn't exactly something he's got. He eases up on his teeth, but not his tone. "I don't think you could get past me, Austin and Ally, though. Besides, how do I know you didn't just create this elaborate scheme to gain our trust over the past few days in order to escape?" Trish groans in exasperation. Ally enters the kitchen, her empty, syrup-covered plate in her hands.
"That does sound like a stretch, Dez," she inputs carefully, knowing the boy's worry. She'd been having a hard time, herself—constantly checking in on the other girl. Watching her. Making sure she's never alone anywhere.
"Thank you, Ally," Trish expresses, giving Dez a pointed look. "Austin's gonna be out there with me, anyway." Dez turns to the other boy.
"Don't let her leave your sight," he instructs him, taking another forkful of pancake and stuffing it aggressively into his mouth. The blond nods, pursing his lips. Ally sets her empty plate down and squeezes Austin's shoulder. He rests his hand on top of hers.
"I don't need a babysitter, you doof. I promise, I'm not gonna try anything," Trish continues insisting, her tone now softer and more reassuring. Dez continues glaring at her for a few more moments, trying to pick up on even the slightest implication that she may be planning to go against her word. He drops the hardened look, transforming it into a much more cheerful one, immediately. Too immediately.
"Okie dokie!" he accepts, his voice suddenly full of warmth. Trish exhales a relieved sigh, leans over and gives him a peck on the lips, then exits the kitchen to stock her backpack with a few essentials for their escapade. Austin starts following her out, until he feels a tug on his shirt. Dez holds him back, grabbing him by the hem of his top. The blond turns around to face his friend, surprised that his face had gone back to its prior stern state so quickly. "Don't let her leave your sight," he reiterates once the girl's out of earshot. Austin nods in silence and Dez lets go of his shirt, putting his smile back on, as if a mask. The blond glances over at Ally, who shrugs and nods, agreeing with Dez. He leaves the room to gather his own things.
"He just worries, Trish," Austin insists, maneuvering through some dense foliage, his eyes remaining locked on the girl. Just as he'd promised.
"Yeah, well, who does he think he is? I've been looking out for him from the get-go and he's worried about me out here?" She shakes her head.
"You know, the zombies aren't what he's worried about, Trish," the blond points out. Trish stops in her tracks, causing Austin to nearly bump into her. She turns around to see his puzzled face.
"I know," she sighs, feeling defeated. "I get it. I haven't been in the best mindset lately and I guess I've been taking more risks with my life." She chews on her bottom lip, unsure of how to even counter that. "It's just kind of frustrating, you know? I mean, he's Dez, and he's trying to protect me?" Her incredulousness shows no bounds, especially as she spots the smile on her blond friend's face. "What?"
"Dez has always been trying to protect you," Austin explains, insistently. The curiosity on her face begs him to continue. He gestures to her to continue walking with him as he explains. She follows along beside him, attentive. "I'm talking before all this. Way before. Like, even soon after we all met." Trish shakes her head.
"Nuh-uh. We were only around each other 'cause of you, Ally, and sure, our mutual love of Zaliens. There's no way he was even remotely—"
"He kept defending you," Austin interrupts.
"What?" Her brows knit together. He continues, warily.
"Okay, so please don't kill me, but I may have...criticized you in front of Dez a little after we first met…" To her glare, he quickly adds, "Nothing that bad! I just said things like you seem a little intimidating and maybe a little harsh." Trish smirks, as she takes some pride in those adjectives being attached to her on a first impression.
"Good," she states, simply. Austin laughs and continues on.
"But, like, Dez wasn't having it. He didn't go all white knight for you or anything, but he kept saying things like…I thought Trish was kinda cool, or, she seemed nice when we went to the mug store together. Little things like that. But also big things, later on. You remember the whole mess with the Sleeping Beauty play, right? Or all those times you needed support when it came to acting or managing? I hate to admit it, but he was the one who had your back the most. He doesn't even like seeing you a little upset, of course he wouldn't wanna see you in any danger." Austin pauses for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "He may enjoy teasing you, but he really doesn't like it when other people do. Even me. But that might be 'cause he knows you don't take it seriously from him. Or 'cause he gets you more than other people do and knows your limits. But yeah, he's...he's always been protective of you." Austin ends with a shrug, concerned as he notices the girl staring at the ground as they press further towards the main road. "Trish…"
"He's such a doof," she responds, softly, shaking her head, her eyes still trained on the ground. Austin watches curiously, her expression filled with so much that he's unsure of just what the girl is truly feeling. "Hey, I see the main road up ahead," she states, regaining her normal tone as she changes the subject. She squints her eyes to get a better look beyond the glare from the sun reflecting off of one of the signs. "I think that might be another gas station, too. Let's go!" She quickens her pace, moving well ahead of him. Austin frowns, hoping that at least some of what he'd told her had gotten through to her. He quickens his own pace to keep up with her. For someone with such short legs compared to his own, she's quite fast.
"Wait up, Trish!"
"Ohhh, I just love love!" Ally coos, a skip in her step as she carries a box of dry foodstuff to the truck, now parked by the cabin. Dez trudges alongside with his own box of supplies, perplexion on his face.
"All I said was, I hope they'll be back soon." He hops into the cargo hold of the semi and places the box inside. He takes a seat on the edge of the entrance, his legs hanging off. "Did I miss something? Or are you just thinking about that romcom you and Austin saw together before—" Ally stops him with a raise of her hand.
"—You and Trish. I was talking about you and Trish. You're always so protective of her, I don't know why I didn't see it before!" she enthuses, giddy from the thought. The two of them together makes perfect sense to her, despite their disagreements, and she admonishes herself for not paying enough attention before. Sure, they mess with each other regularly, but it's always been clear that they know each other's boundaries and do genuinely care for each other.
"You got I love love and all of that from me saying, I hope they'd be back soon?" He narrows his eyes, not buying it. Ally smiles, setting her box down next to Dez's in the truck and then taking a seat beside him at the opening.
"It just got me thinking about how much you care about her," she clarifies. "I always knew you did to some extent, but I didn't give it much thought. You do. You care a lot about her. And not just about her safety, but her overall well-being, her happiness...I see how fast you act whenever she seems upset. It's sweet." Dez chews on his lower lip, already feeling the heat rising up into his cheeks yet again.
"Well, she is my friend…" he starts to counter, attempting to hide his embarrassment. Ally gives him a pointed look, shaking her head at him.
"After what me and Austin walked in on this morning—" she interrupts him, a sly smile donned.
"—Okay! So maybe she's my friend, and then some," he admits in defeat, his shoulders slumping a little. "And you didn't walk in on anything," he mumbles, his arms now crossed over his chest. "We could've been playing strip poker or something for all you know!" Ally laughs at how flustered the redhead before her looks.
"Whatever you say," she hums, jumping out the truck and heading back over to the cabin to gather more supplies. "But you can't deny your feelings forever, Dez." The boy smirks.
"I didn't," he retorts, smugly. She nods, accepting his straightforwardness with admiration. He threads his fingers through his hair, taking immediate notice on how much softer it is thanks to that fancy conditioner he had found in the bathroom. He ponders for a moment over what kind of person would have owned this cabin. His mind wandering into some dark places, he shakes off the thought. He checks his wrist for the time, only to find no watch on there. It's not like he usually wears them, but he checks his wrist anyway, for the gesture's sake. "When do you think they'll be back?"
"Well, hopefully before sundown?" Ally answers with nonchalance, continuing to pack the truck. She pauses after setting down the last jar of pickles. "We told them to be back before sundown, right?" she asks, slightly panicking. Trish and Austin tend to be the more adventurous and presumably fearless ones of the four, so it wouldn't be too far-fetched for them to continue scouting even as it gets dark. Dez blinks, staring idly off into space as he tries to remember.
"If they're not back before sundown, we're gonna go look for them," Dez asserts, his eyes moving to the woods beside them, trying his best to maintain his calm. His hands begin to tremble a little, not quite getting the memo.
"That symbol...I know I've seen it somewhere before," Trish states, shielding her eyes against the setting sun as she stares off at a distant building. Austin shields his own eyes, following her gaze to look in the same direction.
"Woah, wait! Me, too!" he proclaims, shrinking down as Trish aggressively shushes him. His voice mellows to just above a whisper and he continues, "We found a pair of tweezers with that same logo on it when we were looking for you."
"I figured I might've dropped that. We found it in this old, abandoned factory building," she explains to him. Austin nods.
"Yeah, Dez told us about that. The whole thing with those mercenary guys, too. Yeesh. Why'd you and Dez get to hog all the excitement?" he teases, softly jabbing her in the arm with his elbow. Trish laughs lightly.
"Hey, we woulda been more than happy to share some with you guys," she counters. She looks back up at the building in the distance. "Wait a second…" she pauses, thinking it through. "I think I've seen that logo on a different building before."
"The old factory?"
"No. It was—" she stops, dread washing over her and swallowing her whole. She feels weakness in her knees, and stumbles forward a little, dropping her bag of supplies. Austin manages to grip onto her shoulders just in time, before she could fall.
"What? What is it, Trish?" His concern grows, seeing the color rush out of her face.
"It...it was where…" she breathes deeply, gathering herself. "E-E-Etta," she stutters out. Austin winces, remembering what Dez had told him about the woman and what went down between her and Trish. "A-a building with that logo. Sh-she wanted to take us there."
"You mean where they wanted to conduct experiments on you and stuff?" he asks, albeit rhetorically. "Yeah, we're not going anywhere near there. Don't you worry."
"W-we have to pass b-by it if we wanna go home," she continues, her voice still at a loss of strength. Austin frowns at her, sympathy in his eyes, then looks back over to the building.
"We'll find another way," he assures her. "We'll go around it. Off-road. I'm sure the truck can handle a little bit of that." Trish nods, but remains silent, her eyes trained to the bag she had dropped. Austin scoops it up for her. "C'mon. Let's head back. It's getting dark, and knowing Ally and Dez, we're probably gonna get an earful." The beginnings of a smile starts to form upon her lips.
"Those goofs." She shakes her head. "I love them."
"Me, too."
Okay, so uh...It's been, what, eight months since I last updated this? I'm terrible, I'm sorry. I hope this chapter makes up for some of it. While I can't promise regular updates, I can make sure they come around a lot more often than they have this year. I do really want to finish this story.
-AJ