Chapter Five
Moose
I come crashing to the floor
And I know there must be more like me
I've seen this all before, I can't carry this anymore, break free
Breath, and leave until the storm is over
'Cause underneath, there's a diamond passing over
So breath, let's leave until the storm is over,
Because I want to take you away
Moose blinked awake as a draft of cold air washed over him. Groaning, he sat up in his new bed. Why was it suddenly freezing? Frowning, he got out of the bed and walked into the hall. Following the draft, he found Gabriel standing in front a large window. The window was open and Gabriel seemed to be looking down, as if he was thinking about jumping.
"Life isn't as bad as you think, man. It's not worth giving up." Moose said and Gabriel turned to look at him.
"There are a lot of things not worth giving up, it doesn't stop people from doing it anyway. Besides, I was just waiting for the sun to rise." Moose could sense the lie in Gabriel's voice but didn't say anything.
"Another day stuck inside, right? I guess that's all you can look forward to when you've got a bounty on your head." Moose mused.
"Actually, I was hoping to go grocery shopping today. As trivial as it seems, and I think we can spare a visit to your favorite Chameleon?" Gabriel smirked when Moose's face broke into a grin. He missed Camille like crazy and wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and kiss her senseless. Moose smiled gratefully at Gabriel before moving to the kitchen and opening the refrigerator.
"Yea...we need to go grocery shopping. Everything in here requires actual cooking." Moose joked as he took out a carton of eggs and a pack of bacon.
Gabriel rolled his eyes as he fetched some pans and turned the stove on. The process of making breakfast was an eventful one. Moose dropped a few eggs and had to clean them up while Gabriel burned a majority of the bacon. By the time they sat down to eat, they were clutching their sides from laughter. Moose managed to get a good look at Gabriel while he tried to calm himself. He noticed that Gabriel looked a lot younger when he wasn't being deathly serious, which was all the time.
"If you hate it so much, why do you do it?" Moose asked once they had regained their composure and began to eat their breakfast.
"I didn't always hate it. In some way I still love the Grand Ball. It's just...it's become such a chore and someone has to do it. So it might as well be me. It was ironic when Jared told me he was going to burn it down, I've been thinking of doing the same thing for months." Gabriel mused as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.
"You've given so many people a place to go, though. It's a haven, a sanctuary, why take that away? Why not just pass the responsibility on to someone else?" Moose asked and Gabriel looked thoughtful before opening his mouth to say something but then closing it.
They cleaned to kitchen before separating to get dressed. As the sun came up over the horizon, Gabriel and Moose were riding down the elevator. In the parking garage, Gabriel stopped in front of seven different cars.
"Pick one," He told Moose, "And I'll let you drive."
Moose blanched as he looked at each car. After a good five minutes of deliberating, he chose a canary yellow 2010 Camaro with vintage-style racing stripes. Gabriel tossed him the keys before heading to the passenger side. When Moose got into the driver's side, he took a second to revel in the awesomeness of the car.
"This is tight!" He exclaimed as he started the engine and turned on the stereo. Usher's voice poured through the speakers and the bass vibrated through Moose's body. Gabriel closed his eyes and clutched the door handle as Moose peeled out of the parking lot.
As they drove, Moose bobbed his head to the music. He looked over at Gabriel who was shuffling through the glove compartment. He was about to ask what his friend was doing when Gabriel pulled out two guns. One was a Glock and the other was a Ruger. Moose gulped as Gabriel placed both of the gun in a holster, which he then put on his waist.
"I never said we were out of danger. And it's always good to be prepared." Gabriel explained as Moose pulled into the parking lot of Camille's dorm.
They got out of the car and Moose raced ahead to the entrance. He practically sprinted through the common room and up the stairs to where Camille's room was. When he got there, her freaky roommate answered the door. She gave Moose a once-over before scrunching her nose up in disgust and letting him in.
Moose slipped into Camille's room and walked over to the edge of her bed. He sat down on it and reached over run a hand through her hair. She giggled and sighed in her sleep, which gave Moose's heart a jolt.
"Cam...? Chameleon..." He sang and Camille's eyes fluttered open. He grinned as she focused on him and immediately threw her arms around him.
"Where have you been? It's been nearly a week since you're sketchy as hell phone call. No one at The Vault had seen you and Jacob said you might be in some trouble because Gabriel...came and got you?" Moose noticed that she wasn't looking at him anymore. He turned to see Gabriel standing silently in the doorway.
"I've been staying with Gabe for the last few days. Something's happened Cam, and Jacob was right, I am in some trouble," Moose admitted, "I can't tell you anything though. I don't even know how it'll be before I can you again after this, but I do want you to know that I love you."
Camille's mouth dropped open and Moose leaned over and kissed her cheek. He did love her, he realized that when he was wondering if he'd ever see her again. And he wanted nothing more than for her to know that. She turned so their lips could meet and they kissed, far more passionately than before. It was a kiss full of longing, desire, and best of all, love. When they finally pulled away, Camille threw her arms around him again and they held on to each as though their lives depended on it.
"You can't leave me, Moose. I love you. Please...let me come with you." Moose wanted nothing more than for her to come with him but he knew that was too dangerous. Camille was tough and she proved that fact over and over again, but Moose wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she got so much as a scratch on her because of him.
"I want nothing more than for you to come with us but the guys who are after us, they want us dead. And I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt or died because of me. No ma'am, I'm dying first whether it's tomorrow or seventy years from now." Moose told her and to his surprise, Camille grinned.
"Seventy years from now?" She teased and Moose kissed her one last time before standing up.
"Yes ma'am, when we're old and watching our great grandbabies play in the front yard. You'll still be the voice of reason and I'll be senile as hell and still attracting trouble." Moose said.
"Promise?" Camille asked as she got up and followed them to the entrance of the dorm.
"I promise, Chameleon." Moose whispered.
Camille smiled softly before turning to Gabriel, "Keep him safe for me. I'd hate for him to break his promise."
"I'll make sure he keeps it then." Gabriel smiled as he hugged Camille before opening the door and disappearing through it. Moose gave a farewell salute to her before following after him.
Moose had a slight bounce to his step as they walked outside. He climbed into the Camaro and started it. Once Gabriel was buckled up, they sped away from the campus to the nearest grocery store. Moose was still walking on cloud nine as they browsed through the aisles. Gabriel shook his head constantly at Moose who seemed to be stuck in the tofu section, undecided as to what he wanted to get.
"You're not even a vegetarian." He told Moose who grinned sheepishly.
"Blame my old high school, they served nothing but tofu and it was great." Moose explained as he grabbed two packages of tofu dogs.
They had wandered into the produce section when the entrance of the small grocery store opened and three guys in black suits walked in. Gabriel was frowning at some overripe tomatoes while Moose weighed oranges. Moose's senses immediately went on high alert when he heard an ominous click. Dropping to the ground, the sound of machine gunfire rang through the store. There were several screams as Gabriel shouted for Moose to find better cover.
Moose scrambled behind a shelf and Gabriel slid beside him. Moose watched as Gabriel pulled out the Glock and stood up, firing two shots. There was a grunt and thud, one of the men had been hit.
"How the hell did they find us?" Moose asked aloud as he covered his head.
"I guess the car you picked was a little too flashy, eh?" Gabriel smirked before pulling out the Ruger and handing it to Moose. Moose looked at it before shaking his head.
"I am not shooting anyone, okay? I don't need that on my conscience." He told Gabriel who opened his mouth to protest but nodded like he understood. He stood and fired another shot before ducking behind the shelf.
"On my count, you're going to run like hell to that door over there, got it?" Gabriel gestured to a an emergency exit that was a few yards away from them. Moose gulped and nodded.
Gabriel began counting as he stood and held up both guns. When he began firing multiple shots he yelled at Moose to run. Time seemed to stop as Moose stood sprinted to the emergency exit. Behind him, he could shouts and a gun began firing. He made it to the door just in time though and escaped into an alley. Not wanting the goons to catch up with him, he kept running until he reached the Camaro. To his dismay, though, the tires were flattened and Jared was sitting on the head.
"Well, what do we have here?" Moose's mouth went dry as Jared pulled out a pistol and raised it, "Any last words?"
"Dude, we don't have to do this, okay? We really don't. I mean, we can just agree to disagree. I can go on living my life and you can go on with yours," The gun clicked and Jared put his finger on the trigger, "No one has to die...I don't want to die..." Moose trailed off as Gabriel came stepped out of the store and wrapped his arm around Jared's neck. At the sudden force, Jared's grip loosened on the gun and Moose managed to rush forward and knocked it from his head.
"Moose, run." Gabriel ordered.
"What? No, man, what about you?" Moose said shaking his head.
"Don't worry about me, just do what the hell I said! Run!" Gabriel shouted at him. Moose hesitated before turning and running. He ran for what seemed like hours, refusing to look back. Finally, he stopped a good distance from the store and turned around. He could still see Gabriel and Jared standing there. He watched as Gabriel released Jared and took a step back. Jared looked in the distance Moose had run, so Moose ducked into an alleyway. Jared turned back to Gabriel and seemed to say something before a car pulled up and Jared climbed inside. Gabriel just stood there as the car drove away.
Moose stayed out of sight as the car passed and then headed back to the store. Gabriel stood by the Camaro, his fists clenched tightly.
"What'd he say?" Moose asked, knowing he didn't want the answer.
"It doesn't matter." Gabriel said and once again, Moose could hear the lie in the catch of his voice. He didn't say anything about it, though.
He would later wish that he had.
That's chapter five. How'd you like the grocery store shootout? It was crazy and definitely my favorite scene so far. So what did Jared say to Gabriel? We'll find that out in the next chapter. Until then, you've just got to stick around. Thanks to all my awesome reviewers. You guys are awesome!
~As the Rush Comes~
Disclaimer: I do not own Step Up or Move by Thousand Foot Krutch