Okay. So I really like this chapter. Just gonna say it. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows. The more you do, the more I write. You guys are the reason I keep doing this. I would thank you a thousand times if I could.
Some ideas are mine. Everything else belongs to Veronica Roth.
Nuclear Seasons, Charli XCX
From far away, the warehouse looked like any old run down place. But as I got closer, it became more and more eerie.
The red brick had turned to a darker color. The openings that used to contain windows and doors were now boarded up, excluding about 2. But, the thing that really bothered me were the sounds.
There were none.
It was silent except for the breeze that would rustle the bushes I was walking through.
The plan was simple.
I would go to the warehouse, get caught, and distract the team while Paige and Jasmine would sneak around to the south wall. Hopefully, while I fight off a few, they'll successfully have made it.
Then Connor, Jackson, Becca and Mason will help with whoever isn't guarding the flag while the other group searches the top floor for their flag and retrieve it.
Joseph and Trevor will be keeping watch through one of the windows to make sure nothing goes wrong or out of hand.
Of course, I didn't take into account that maybe everyone on Nash's team was waiting on the inside and they would shoot me so many times that I wouldn't be a distraction to anyone.
That's always a possibility. But for now, this was the plan.
My gun was up as I slowly walked in the bushes. The noise could easily be mistaken for some wind or a bunny or something.
The warehouse was only a few yards away.
There was nothing else in front of me but brick. The door was a slide down entrance, whose metal sheet was missing. (AN: LIKE THE ONE ON GARAGES)
And the oddest thing was that no one was around. No one was guarding the entrance.
My gaze moved up to the trees that grew around the right side.
There was no movement.
But, I had the suspicion that there was definitely some there. Almost like the branches were too still with the wind whipping.
And then I saw the glint of a scope.
Before the shouting began, I held my breath and aimed right at the spot where light just reflected.
And I fired.
A wail ended the silence as a body crashed to the ground.
To my surprise, there was nothing after that. No shouts. No hollers. No more guns firing. Just the groans coming from the person I just shot. Even with the situation being sketchy, my curiosity powered me to check them out.
I crept out of the bushes, gun still up, and headed to the fallen body. They were rolling on the ground, holding their head. As I got closer, I saw the messy blonde hair and slim build.
"Damn it," Ky muffled into his jacket.
I should feel sorry for him. He just has no luck against me.
But Dauntless has had an effect on him. His Candor body was starting to bulk up and he didn't look like the same boy I saw on the train.
I picked his gun up off the ground and slung it behind my back.
He looked up from the ground and I saw the damage.
The left side of his face was bright red and swollen. His eye wasn't in bad shape, but a huge bruise was already starting to form across his cheekbone. The paintball didn't splatter against his skin. It must have just ricocheted off.
Instead of yelling or making some nasty remark, he smiled and shook his head. I was standing only a few feet away from him while he stood up.
"You just can't seem to get enough of me, can you?"
I smiled at him. Thank god he's okay. All I needed was another lecture from my parents regarding how I need to be more wise in my abilities and not shoot right through the scope of another initiate.
How a tiny paintball was able to break through the glass is beyond me.
"Ky?" Someone asked from around the building.
We both looked at each other. For a second, I thought he wouldn't say anything. That he'd let me go.
Holy shit was I wrong.
"They're here!" He shouted back, a huge smile on his face.
I rolled my eyes and shot him in the leg before running off. There was really nowhere else to go besides, well inside.
Shouts erupted in the air as more bodies came out of what I thought was darkness. On instinct, I shot. Aiming at every thing that came towards me. Some came from doorways in the warehouse and other were simply standing inside it.
The area was a complete open space. At least six stories high. The ceiling of the building was visible. The top floor was able to be seen because half of it was gone.
As they began to fire back, I resorted to ducking behind a crate that sat in the corner.
Bullets, or pardon me for saying balls, flew into the wall behind me. They cracked against the brick and spotted it with neon colors.
"She's behind the crate!"
The voice was close, a lot closer than it should be. Maybe 4-5 feet to my left. Taking a deep breath, I zipped my jacket up, slung my gun around my back and quickly turned from around the crate.
A flash of black was all I saw as I knocked the person's gun down and wrapped it around their own neck.
I realized the black was the person's hair.
And they were a girl by the name of Lily.
"Shit," She muttered under her breath as I held her in a grip that forced her body towards her own team shooting
"Hey Lil," I said back, hiding behind her.
She chuckled and flung her elbow back into my ribs. The pain was subtle, but enough to make me lose her gun position around her neck. Before she could get away, I moved my hand from the muzzle to the grip and lodged it into her back.
I felt her wince and I knew I did it a bit too hard.
"Sorry," I whispered under my breath.
"All's good," She whispered back.
Her teammates stopped firing, probably afraid that they were going to hit her. And the one of the worse things you could do to Lily was shoot a paintball at her face.
Once again, my body went behind hers.
The faces of everyone else was priceless. Wide eyes and open mouths. There was a lot more people down here than I thought there would be. Out of the 9 members of the team, 4 were at the ground floor. That leaves Ky and the other girl I heard outside with 3 people guarding the flag.
But, knowing Nash, he wouldn't leave 3 people guarding the flag. He's a defensive kind of guy, but he wouldn't waste 3 team members guarding a flag.
He wasn't down here though.
Where would he be?
He's probably outside, dumbass.
That didn't sound right.
He was sneaky. Very evasive.
But, while I stood holding Lily, I sensed something. Not a chill that gave me goosebumps. Not something that would scare me and make me scream. Just that something was there. Something was behind me.
Someone.
And I knew exactly who.
I tried to be as fast as I could, but Nash was faster. When I attempted to whip my gun from Lily's back to him, he knocked it out of my hands. The room was silent as the metal skid across the concrete floor.
I bet they all thought I was screwed.
That I was terrified of a little paintball gun.
If only they knew.
My eyes met Nash's. They were the same color they were when I first saw him. Completely and utterly beautiful.
As much as I wanted to look at him in that way, I observed him. In his beautiful eyes, there was something I couldn't help by smile at.
There was amusement.
His body was at a standstill with his gun pointing at me, probably not going to do any damage. Those damn lips were tugged up on one side, only exposing at fraction of his teeth.
Amused eyes, still body, and a smirk. That meant only 2 two things: either he was a sadist or he was attracted to me at the moment.
The last one was ridiculous. There was no way this fucking Greek God boy was turned on by a 16-year-old girl with her jacket covering the little she had with her hair looking like a lion's mane.
That was unfathomable.
And yet, his expression didn't change.
Annoyed, I decided to do something.
I fired my hand towards his gun, aiming to knock it out of his hands. His other hand grabbed it before I could do my job.
I don't know what pissed me off more. The fact that I can't do anything to him or that someone is beating me at my own game.
I was distracted, for just a second, by the feeling his grip sent through my arm. The feeling quickly disappeared when I got a good look at his face again.
With the same goddamn smirk he had on before.
Remember when Lily said all the shit about him looking at me how every girl wants to be looked at? I can now say that no one deserves to be looked at the way he was looking at me now.
I guess in those weeks since I saw him in the tattoo parlor, his view on me has changed. He looks at me like I'm below him now. Like I'm little sister. A little girl.
Pathetic.
"Now now," He muttered flinging his gun around his back, allowing for both his hands to hold down my arms. "Don't get ahead of yourself,"
As much as I wanted to do something to knock him on his ass and demote him the way he just demoted me, I did the smart thing. I just went along with the plan.
"C'mon, I was thinking second base," I murmured back.
His nose twitched a bit, but he covered it by turning me around and pulling my hands behind my back. All the members of his team looked a bit surprised. Probably over the fact that he didn't shoot me.
"Well?" He told them. "Aren't you going to get a me some rope so we can find where their flag is?"
It seemed to click with everyone because they started looking everywhere for something to restrain me. This might be a bit too much for a stupid game of capture the flag, but over the past few years, things have been getting really competitive.
"Found some!" Wes came out of a room holding up a bundle of thin rope. Nothing a simple knife couldn't cut through. Ky also brought in an old metal chair that looked about as comfortable as Jackson's bed.
Nash brought me over to where Ky was setting up the torture device. I was so scared of this aluminum chair, I might freak out. I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous thought.
I expected Nash to be rough while he tied my wrists together behind my back. Probably tie them so tight, I'd have marks tomorrow.
Instead, he sat me down and walked around behind me. Ky was the only one still here, and it felt awkward just looking at him.
Déjà vu struck as Nash moved my hair to one side of my shoulder. His hand left the same heat it did when he injected me with the fear simulation.
He brought my hands together. I got chills when I felt his thumb draw circles on the inside of my wrists. I hope to God that was mindlessly. Slowly, he wrapped the rope around once, then twice and then once around the metal bar of the chair.
He stayed there for a few seconds, observing me. I got a look at Ky. He had his hands in his pockets and his head down. He looked embarrassed.
"You can go back outside now, Ky," Nash said as he circled back around to my sight. Ky nodded and looked at me before turning back to the entrance.
Well, that was weird.
"Finally some alone time," I said under my breath.
"Not yet," He smiled while crossing his arms on his chest. He called down the names of several Dauntless-born. All the people who were shooting at me before were now a few feet behind Nash. There guns were down as they began to watch my interrogation. "Tell me where your flag is,"
"Like I'm gonna tell you," I rolled my eyes.
"Maybe you just need some persuasion," He took his gun and pointed it directly at my chest. I snorted at his gesture.
"In case you haven't noticed, fear doesn't work on me," I said it low enough for only Nash to hear.
That lightened him a bit. He brought his gun down and tossed it to the side. Several other members were shocked by his gesture. He even shocked me when he squatted down in front of me.
"Let's make a deal," He started, looking up at me. His hair looked darker when their was no sun to glint off of it. "You tell me where your team's flag is and wherever they are in general, and I'll give you what you want,"
Want.
The word sparked a fire in my brain.
Actually, not really in my brain.
"How do you know what I want, Nash?" I raised my eyebrows as he took a step closer to me. I could touch him if I wasn't restrained.
"I know what I do to you, Theo,"
Whoa. Well then.
He stood up and put his hands on my two arm rests. Now he was extremely close to me. The smell of cedar filled my nose. Never in my life have I ever been so intoxicated by the smell of a tree. A normal reaction would be to push myself forward. Instead, relaxed my shoulders and sat like a normal human being.
"I frustrate you. Confuse you, Piss you off," His eyes scanned up my body. They lingered not on my chest, but on my lips.
I guess that's a good sign.
"But most of all," His head moved so his lips barely brushed against my ears.
God damn it.
I felt like I might combust.
Control yourself.
"I turn you on, don't I?" He whispered and I had the feeling his was enjoying himself.
Sweet fucking Jesus.
"Let's be honest here. You turn on anything with two legs and tits,"
The words spilled out before I could stop them. A laugh hitched in his throat. He went back to being a normal distance away from a person and ran his hand through his hair, laughing.
I caught a look at the members of his team. Eleanor, a Dauntless born with a huge chest and blonde hair, was bright red with embarrassment after my comment. And Wes was staring at her.
How Nash was able to say all these things in front of them, knowing how they'll react, is beyond me. He doesn't care what other people will think. He has authority over them. He can say whatever he wants.
"You being part of that group?"
I pursed my lips and thought about it.
"Sorry, but have you seen me? My chest is flatter than your personality,"
And now I have no filter.
Word vomit.
Nash whistled and I got a look at Lily. She tried to contain her laugh by covering her mouth. She raised her eyebrows at me, appalled.
"Nasty," Nash muttered under his breath. If his wasn't smiling, I would have been worried.
I almost forgot that I have a plan that is brewing.
I tried to look ambiguous as I snuck a glance at the window where Joseph and Trevor were suppose to be. I could barely see them, but I made out someone's hand gesturing me to get it on with.
I brought my heel back towards my hands as far as it would go. I flicked the switch, revealing the small blade. Nash didn't seem to notice.
"Tell me where they are," This time it was a command.
"I don't think so," I tried my best to cut through the first loop around my wrists.
"Wait a minute," I smiled at him. "Did Nash lose his game of capture the flag when he was an initiate?"
His face turned hard. I've seen this expression before, just never triggered towards me. It was menacing, obviously not to me though.
I cut through the second loop.
"What makes you think that?" He snapped, picking his gun up again.
"Well, you're so intent on winning this game that you're willing to tie a girl up in a chair and have half your team watch as you take the easy way out by interrogating her instead of looking for the flag yourself,"
His body tightened and the grip on the gun got stronger. I just had to keep this going for a few more seconds. My knife moved to the rope around the chair.
"I'd say that's pretty cowardly," I whispered, cocking my head to the side and running my tongue along my teeth.
As if on command, he brought his gun up to my chest again. But this time, there was no fun on his face. It was stone cold.
"Shoot me, Nash," I tempted him. The bullet wouldn't hurt me and if I couldn't continue playing, that wouldn't be a loss to the rest of the plan.
The room was silent.
The only thing I heard was my heart beat and Nash's breathing. Which was pretty fast for him being on the opposite side of the gun. Normally, he would be fine. Right now, his face was blank and his mouth was slightly open.
That was the first fear I recognized in Nash.
His was afraid of shooting me.
Slowly, he lowered his gun and shook his head, as if shaking away a thought. He took one more glance at me before turning around.
"We're going to win this game," He muttered to his teammates. They all nodded in unison.
"I'm not so sure about that," I interrupted. They all turned to me, showing disbelief and confusion.
Showtime.
"Hey, dipshits!"
Becca's voice rang through the warehouse. Shots went off and my team appeared through the entrance. If that's not perfect timing, I don't know what is.
"Shit!" Nash swore. Turning around to shoot me I guess, his face dropped when he saw me free. Some pieces of rope were still around my wrists, but I was successfully out. Thanks to my boots.
There are times I want to kiss the ground Christina walks on.
Nash's face incalculable. Once his gun was down, I kicked him in the side. I reached in, grabbed the gun and kicked out the back of his knees, causing them to buckle. He fell to his knees, holding his side in pain.
He fell onto his back with some of my help and I successfully held his arms down with my knees. My self-confidence skyrocketed, knowing I wasn't completely ineffective against him.
His eyes glowed when he looked at me.
And he smiled. A real smile not the fake smirk he usually had on his face.
I grabbed on of the paint balls in my pocket and rolled it between my fingers. I wasn't going to shoot him, but he wasn't losing without getting something on him.
I pressed the ball onto his jacket, letting it splatter orange on his chest.
"Got ya," I said.
Chanting brought my attention up to the top floor. Paige stood, waving the neon flag above her head in victory. A wide smile came across my face. My plan worked. Who would've thought.
I looked back down at Nash. Instead of his attention on Paige and his flag in her hand, he was just staring at me. And that was the look Lily was talking about.
"Where's your flag?" He asked.
I bit my lip and grabbed the zipper of my jacket. At first, his eyes got wide.
Conventional for a guy.
Once it was down all the way, I pulled the flag from the inside of my jacket.
"We hid it on me,"
He had the same look on his face. There was admiration, disbelief, and something else. Maybe he didn't think I was pathetic. Maybe he didn't think I was a little girl.
Maybe I was something more to him, judging by his expression now. It brought a warmth to my body. A feeling that's almost indescribable. For once, I hope that I am something more to someone.
Cause I sure as hell know he's something more to me.