Sorry for making you wait! Thanks again to all the lovely comments/favorites/follows. I think I responded to them! I don't know, my sleep schedule it pretty bad, I may have dreamed it. I love you all! I wanted to post this a two nights ago, but I wanted time to rewrite a couple scenes. Hope you enjoy ;)
-Blink
~~Twist Nightclub, two days later~~~
Emma wasn't sure if she was trying very hard to avoid Wrench, or if he was trying to avoid her, but they haven't seen each other since he walked her to Sitara's. She worked on new ammunition that could work with the freeze gun, as well as continued to develop her hallucinogens. Sam wasn't anywhere to be seen, by Sitara's orders. Emma missed having someone to talk to, but wouldn't risk being around Sam. They realized Emma would be safe working in her lab alone, but Sitara, Marcus, or Ray would come by to escort her if she needed to leave.
But none of that concerned Emma when she arrived to her destination. It was arranged that she'd have Dedsec members hiding around the nightclub to be her bodyguard. None that she met, but she would trust them, anyway. She hoped.
She got out of her cab, readjusting her dark blue dress. She hadn't worn a dress in a long time, feeling slightly uncomfortable in it. Glancing over to her right, she noticed people already checking her out. Maybe it was a good dress choice, she thought. For a second, she thought what Wrench would think about the dress - if it would make him stop dead in his tracks. But she quickly forced that out of her thoughts and walked into the club.
Loud dance music, grinding bodies, and drunk people flailing around. It was everything she hated, but perhaps she needed that environment at that moment. After a minute of wandering around, she felt someone tackle her into a hug, "Emmaa!" A voice shrieked in her ear, shouting over the music. Emma looked over to see a very drunk Heather clinging to her, "So glad you made it!"
"Nice to see you!" She said, not sure if she meant it. Heather grabbed her hand and dragged her to a corner full of other women. She wasn't sure what anyone was saying, all she heard was drunk high pitched voices. It was somewhat secluded from the dance floor, so they didn't have to shout over each other, but the alcohol deafened everyone anyway.
"Emma!" Lily came up and smashed her with a hug, "Take a shot with me!" She yelled pulling her down. Emma could already tell this was going to be a terrible night, and she was loving it.
~~~Hackerspace~~~
Marcus' threats to Owen and Sam seem to either have gone unnoticed, or Owen really was that powerless. Marcus already relayed how his trip went to the gang. None of which were too pleased at Marcus for. It left Dedsec too open. However, nothing has happened from it, and Sam was not heard from since. The whole team sat around the table, enjoying their Saturday evening bullshitting about their last mission.
"The look on that tool's face was priceless," Marcus laughed. He hacked into another internet troll's room, successfully calling the cops on him. A taste of his own medicine. He loved it every time.
"You'd think they learn," Sitara said.
"Every dumbass kid in their mom's basement think they're better than the others," Ray said.
"Sounds like we need to spread Dedsec's word around again. Another car stunt?" Wrench asked with enthusiasm.
"We gotta mix it up!" Marcus said.
"Let's hijack a chopper!" Wrench said standing up, "I'm on controls next!"
Marcus laughed, "Man, sit down. You'll get your turn."
"You have all the fun, Marcus. Just making sure it's fair," Wrench offered, sitting back down.
Sitara checked her phone, "Speaking of fun… Emma went to a bachelorette party and she's drunk texting," She laughed.
Wrench straightened up, "Wait, she actually went?" He asked.
"Yeah, and you'd know if you talked to her," Sitara said.
"I even knew," Josh said.
"How the fuck did you know?" Wrench asked in disbelief.
Marcus and Ray starting laughing. Sitara was even stifling a laugh. Josh glanced over for a second, "I check in with her to see if she needs anything. It's not hard to say hello," Josh stated.
"Oh, man. Josh, mind giving our boy some dating tips?" Ray asked.
"Hey, Ray. I got a tip for you right here," Wrench casually raised his hand to flip Ray off.
"Yeah, maybe Emma could use that tip," Ray said taking a swig of his beer.
"Ew," Sitara grimaced.
"C'mon man," Wrench said defeated. He didn't like Ray being so suggestive when it came to Emma.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll watch what I say about your girlfriend, Josh," Ray said, causing Marcus to laugh. Ray joined him with his own hearty laugh. Wrench let his head drop to the side, displaying "at" sign icons, giving up.
Marcus looked over to see Josh typing on his laptop, "Man, what are you doing working? We're supposed to be chilling tonight," Marcus said.
"This is me…'chilling'," Josh said looking up. Marcus didn't say anything back, "I'm just keeping an eye on Emma."
Wrench immediately stood up from his seat to walk behind Josh to look at his laptop screen, "Is she okay?" He noticed her wearing the blue dress and laughing with her friends. He hasn't seen her in a few days and he suddenly realized how much he missed her.
Josh didn't like how close Wrench was looming over him and moved his seat over a bit, "She's fine," Josh said.
"Good looking out, Josh!" Sitara said.
Ray chugged down the rest of his beer and set it down on the table, "Well, if we're working anyway," Ray said and stood up, "I got something to show you kids."
"Guess chill day is over," Marcus said. "What you got?"
~~~Twist Nightclub~~~
Emma already had a few shots in her, all thanks to Heather's constant insisting. Emma stepped away from the girls' table so she wouldn't be pressured into drinking anymore. She looked around to see that more have gathered onto the dance floor. Mostly wasted people hoping to get lucky, she imagined. She didn't want to judge. If she had the courage to do so, she would try to go home with someone that night. But with a few shots in, anything could be a possibility. That's why they called alcohol "liquid" courage, after all. She caught someone at the bar looking at her. He didn't look away. Instead, he just smiled. Emma smiled back and walked up to him, trying not to stumble and look drunk, "Are you staring?" She asked with a coy look. His hair looked purple due to the nightclub's lighting, but she assumed he was blonde.
The stranger chuckled, "You caught me," He said, "Can I buy you a drink?"
"No, thank you. My friends made sure I reached my limit within the last half hour," Emma said, slightly slurring.
"What better place to let loose than a nightclub?" The stranger suggested.
"Yeah, well. Any more loose and I won't get to remember the rest of my night," Emma said.
The stranger laughed, "Who says this night's worth remembering?"
Emma eyed him, unintentionally flirting, "It's pretty good so far."
He chuckled, "Might have to agree," He flirted back, on purpose, "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Bachelorette party. First time in a nightclub," She said casually and looked over to her friends 'woo'ing at the table. Emma mentally facepalmed.
The stranger laughed, "Neil, by the way," He said holding out his hand.
"Emelia," She offered her hand and her formal name.
"Classy name for a classy lady," Neil said. He took a sip of his drink, "Well, if you feel like ditching your friends, I got a VIP room upstairs," He said.
Emma took a second to look back at her friends again, who were just taking shots and falling over each other. She looked back to Neil, "Maybe for a minute."
~~~Unknown Warehouse~~~
Ray pulled up the garage door to reveal a man tied to a chair, passed out.
"What the fuck!" "Ray!" "What'd you do?!" was heard being cried in synch.
"Yeah, just a little something I put together," Ray walked up to the man tied up and slapped him in the face to try to wake up, "Rise and shine."
"Ray, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this, man," Marcus said walking up.
"Right? It's a bit much," Sitara agreed.
"Oh. Yeah. Totally," Wrench said sarcastically with his arms crossed, "Nope. I'm so into this right now."
"Who is he?" Sitara asked, ignoring Wrench.
The man slowly opened his eyes to see Ray standing over him. It took him a few moments, but once his vision came back to him, he went into a full on panic and tried to kick himself away from Ray, "Help!" He yelled.
"Remember what happened last time you caused a scene?" Ray asked, "I want you to introduce yourself to my friends here," Ray said gesturing to the Dedsec members. The tied up stranger started stammering. Ray sighed, "You got 5 seconds."
"I'm Carl Tanner!" He shrieked.
"And what does Carl Tanner do?" Ray asked. When he was too nervous to respond, Ray continued, "5…"
"I can't tell you man he'll kill me!" Carl yelled.
"What makes you think we won't?" Ray asked, "4…"
"I work for Cyb0rg!" He said quickly, earning surprised looks from everyone in the room, "I'm one of his messengers or stalkers, whatever. I've been following Emelia around for months tracking her every movements. I've been around when you never knew," He rushed out, eyes squinted shut.
Wrench uncrossed his arms and started marching toward Carl, "You son of a-"
Marcus held him back, "What does Cyb0rg want with her?" He asked Carl.
"What he always wants. To scare girls!" Carl said.
"That's it?" Sitara asked.
"I don't know, I just do what he asks and he pays me," Carl said, slowly calming down.
"Gonna have to do better than that," Marcus said, "What about all these dead woman's name that we found?"
Carl shook his head and whimpered, "It's a sick game to him. He harasses and tortures these girls until they break and kill themselves…" No one liked what he had to say.
"How are you okay with that?" Sitara asked, angrily.
"We all gotta make a living. Right, hacker?" Carl asked, maliciously.
"3-2-1!" Ray said quickly and reached down to break one of Carl's fingers, causing him to yell out in pain.
"Fuck, man!" He shouted.
"I warned you," Ray grinned.
"Emma was his favorite," Carl spat out through the pain, "I don't think he wants her dead like the others. But when she started teaming up with you guys, Cyb0rg made it personal and saw it as a way to take down Dedsec," Carl said.
"Where is he?" Marcus asked.
"I don't know, he moves around a lot," Carl said, and Ray sighed and walked up behind him to grab his fingers again. Carl started to shriek, "Underground! He's always underground! It's harder to find him that way."
"That means we may have found his base! It was just underground," Marcus said, referring to the warehouse from the other day.
"He has multiples. I only know where two are," Carl said.
"How many does he have?" Marcus asked.
Carl looked up to try to remember, "At least 10. I think."
Ray patted Carl on the head, "He's so cooperative," He said with a wide grin.
"Yeah, and I bet Cyb0rg's glad he hired you," Wrench joked.
Sitara walked up to Carl and looked down on him, "There's a reason Cyb0rg is threatened by Dedsec. And if I find out you're lying to us, you'll understand why," She threatened.
"Y-y-y-es ma'am," Carl whimpered.
"Ma'am?" Sitara asked.
"Uh, lady. Nononono, Miss! Ah, fuck I'm don't know!" Carl shrieked.
"Jesus Christ calm the fuck down before I kill you myself," Wrench said.
"I'm sorry!" Carl yelled.
"Stop apologizing!" Wrench yelled back.
"This can go back and forth all day," Marcus said putting his hand on Wrench's shoulder. Wrench walked back over to Josh who brought his laptop with him, still monitoring Emma. Marcus pulled a chair up and twisted it around to straddle it, facing Carl, "Tell me what you know," Marcus said with a grin.
While Marcus, Sitara, and Ray were continuing interrogating Carl, Wrench and Josh were peering over the laptop, "Wait is she…" Wrench started, seeing Emma walking up stairs, "Uhhh…. Hey Sitara?" He asked, but noticed she was still busy interrogating Carl, "Josh, get in there!"
"There aren't any cameras near by, I don't think I can," Josh said calmly.
"Some Dedsec follower is there right? Send the message," Wrench suggested.
"Sitara has the-" Josh began.
Wrench interrupted, "SITARA!"
Sitara groaned and turned around to Wrench, "WHAT?"
"Come here," He said normally, looking back at the screen.
Sitara walked up, "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Yeah, well, Emma's following a guy up into a room," Wrench said.
"So?" Sitara asked, annoyed that he interrupted him for that. Also because she knew that was part of Emma's plan for the night, "At least we know she's into blondes," She smirked ignoring Wrench's sudden curious expression on his mask.
"There's people there to spy on her right now," Carl spoke up, hoping that if he spilled information, he'd be spared at least one finger.
"You're not fucking with us just to let you go?" Marcus asked.
"No, I'm cooperating so you let me go!" Carl defended.
"Is one of them some blonde douchebag with a VIP suite upstairs?" Wrench asked.
"N-no, we're never supposed to talk or approach her," Carl said.
"There's people staring at her as she walked by." Josh said. He was flipping between two cameras.
"Fuck," Sitara said.
Wrench threw his hands up and folded them behind his head, not sure what to do, "I'm going over there," he said.
Before he could make a move, Sitara stopped him, "No you're not. I know you're worried, and so am I, but we have to think this through."
"Think what through? We all know Owen has eyes on her. And now she's got this fuckhead's eyes on her," Wrench argued.
"We all know you're just jealous. Calm your ass down," Ray said.
"I've had enough of you talking shit about me and Emma," Wrench said pointing at Ray.
"Waiiiit. You're Wrench? I heard about you from Sam," Carl laughed.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Wrench asked and everyone walked over to him, minus Josh.
Carl's face paled and started stuttering, "S-S-Sam mentioned her new boyfriend before... Is that not you?"
"HAH!" Ray quickly interjected, "He wishes."
Wrench let his arms drop to his sides and he sighed, "Okay, fine. Whatever. I am jealous. And it's all my fucking fault that it's not me she's walking to some dumb suite with. But right now, I'm worried about Owen getting her. Is that okay with you?"
Ray scratched his beard, no sign of a smirk or humor on his face, "Didn't think you'd actually say it."
"Yeah, so now everyone knows, right? Big news day for Dedsec! Can I go now?" Wrench asked impatiently, beginning to walk backwards. No one wanted to say that they've all known for a long time. He turned, glancing over at Josh's laptop for a second before walking out the door.
"You.. might not want to look," Josh said.
But Wrench did anyway, and from the camera angle Josh was able to get, he saw Neil's face covering Emma's, his arms around her, "He's dead," Wrench said and kicked the door open to storm out.
Everyone stood silent for a moment, thinking, "Marcus, go with Wrench," Sitara commanded, "Ray and I are gonna spend some more quality time with our new friend," She said grinning over to Carl.
"Yeah, got it," Marcus said and headed out, hoping he could catch up with Wrench fast enough. The last thing Marcus heard when he closed the door was Sitara's voice asking how Carl knew Sam.
~~~Twist Nightclub, second floor~~~
Emma didn't know how it happened. One minute she was walking upstairs, the next thing she knew Neil was leaning in. The kiss was so warm and welcoming. She missed having male attention like that. The brief relationship she had after Owen was a rebound and it lasted for as long as a rebound was expected to. It finally dawned on her that she was kissing this stranger she just met, and she pulled back, bring her arms back to her. His arm still lingered on her side slightly. Neil seemed friendly, but he didn't feel comfortable to her. Maybe it was the setting of a nightclub, or… Wrench, but she wanted to leave. So much for a distraction, she thought. The notion sobered her a little bit. Emma grinned wide, "Where's the restroom?" Emma asked with a fake drunk slur.
Neil chuckled, "This isn't the part where you use that line and ditch me?"
Emma fake giggled and pushed him back lightly, hoping he'd let go of her "They probably haven't even realized I left."
Neil smirked, totally falling for her drunk bit. Sleaze, Emma thought, "To the right," Neil said.
Emma stood up, carefully standing her ground as she could feel the alcohol affect her, but managing to sway enough to continue her act. She walked out of the VIP room to look to the right. Two men in suits were already staring at her when she walked out. They turned back to face each other after they made contact with Emma. She didn't think twice, but continued on to find the restroom, now walking normally. Once she passed the two men, they turned back to watch her walk into the restroom.
Opening the doors, she was greeted with a restroom lobby. A woman in a red dress was sitting on the couch, watching her as she walked in. Emma smiled as a greeting and walked in to do her business. The entire time she was in the restroom, she didn't hear anyone walk in or out. After a few minutes, she walked out of the stall. She washed her hands, ignoring the woman in the red dress' continuing gaze. The strange woman never let her gaze on Emma drop even when she made contact yet again on the way out of the door. When she walked out, she noticed the same two men who stared at her minutes ago, were looking at her again. These men weren't with Dedsec. She knew. Emma stood still for a second, feeling the floor beneath her move. Too much alcohol, she mentally groaned. Instead of walking back into the VIP room, she headed back downstairs, walking as quickly as possible. When she reached the bottom, she glanced back up noticing the same men were staring back at her once again. She quickly turned back ahead, causing her to wobble slightly. She shook her head, trying to sober up. With her head held high, she continued walking toward Heather and Lily's table. She could see them in the distance. But she still felt like she was being watched. Once again, she slowly peered back over to the stairs, but the men who were staring were no longer there. Her heart sank. Maybe she was being followed, she thought. She quickly looked around in the crowd, hoping she'd spot them.
After a split decision, she realized that staying in the nightclub was no longer a viable option. Heather was waving her arm to grab Emma's attention. Emma couldn't hear her, but she read her lips as "Emma!"
Ignoring her, she started walking through as many crowds of people as she could. She wanted to try to lose the men that were following her, hoping that they wouldn't catch up or she wouldn't run into them. She took a chance to glance behind her, only to run into someone who then grabbed her arms. Out of fear, she screamed but the loud music drowned it out. When she looked up, she saw Neil's face. He leaned in closer to her ear, "You didn't come back?"
Emma pulled herself out of Neil's grasp and ran right past him, heading for the exit.
~~~San Francisco Streets~~~
Wrench looked down at his phone, receiving a text message from Sitara: Emma really needs help. Hurry! "Any way you can go faster?" Wrench asked nervously, trying to remain calm.
Marcus was driving a car they legally obtained. Not that it was out of the ordinary, but it was a just cause for reaching Emma in time, "Almost there, don't worry," Marcus said.
"I'm not worrying," Wrench said unconvincingly.
"Right. So to ease your mind, plan is you go in, I stay out?" Marcus asked.
"I thought you were going in," Wrench said.
"I thought you wanted to beat that pretty boy up!" Marcus said, raising his pitch.
"Well, I did! But that was then. Emma's in danger, so we got bigger issues," Wrench said smoothly, "Plus, I hate night clubs. That music might actually make me bust some heads."
"If Emma ever asked you to one, would you go?" Marcus asked.
"FUCK no. Only because I know she hates them, too… well, usually," Wrench said. The club was getting closer and Marcus began to slow down.
Marcus laughed, "So I go in, you stay here?"
"Pleeaase," Wrench begged with exclamation marks displaying on his mask.
"Wait, is that Emma?" Marcus asked squinting. They both looked ahead, seeing Emma leaning against the all, hugging herself to keep herself warm. Marcus parked illegally, once again with no bother.
Wrench exited the car and started to run in her direction, "Emma!" Wrench said when he got close enough to get her attention without shouting. She looked up and he took a moment to notice how beautiful he thought she looked in her dress, but he had time to think about that later.
"Wrench," She breathed out, tears in her eyes. She propelled herself forward to hug Wrench, snaking her arms inside his vest. He wrapped an arm around her used his other arm to call Marcus over, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you," She said, her voice muffled in his shirt.
"Likewise. I'm glad you're okay," He said quietly only so that she could hear. Marcus caught up and took his jacket off to offer it to Emma. She slowly released Wrench from the hug and grabbed the jacket, thanking him and she put it on, "Those jerkoffs didn't touch you did they?" Wrench asked.
Emma shook her head then stopped, "Wait, how did you…Oh forget it. I know how…" Emma said. Someone hacked into the nightclub. Typical hacker move, she learned, "Either way, I'm fine."
"Let's get going before they realize you left, yeah?" Marcus suggested, not meaning to rush them.
A few steps on, and Heather's voice was heard shouting over to Emma, "There you are!" She said and ran up to the group.
"Shit," Emma cursed, "Heather, I'm sorry. I really have to go, I-"
"But it's still early! That guy you were talking to asked about youuu," Heather winked and then she noticed Wrench, "Oh you're here!" She squealed and grabbed his arm. He winced when she grabbed the injured one from a few days ago, but it healed up enough to where the pain wasn't unbearable.
"Ehh, go on, I'll deal with this," Wrench said, trying to distract and calm Heather down so that Emma could get away.
Emma frowned, but led Marcus guide her away from the nightclub, away from any possible danger, "You sure you're okay?" Marcus asked.
Emma nodded, "It was scary…Looks like I can't even hang out with some old friends without people harassing me. I'm not sure if it's Owen or not, but…" She trailed off.
"I don't want to scare you, but it was Owen," Marcus confirmed, "You handled yourself well in there."
Emma smiled, "Thanks…But for real, how did you guys know about the guys?"
"Josh was keeping an eye out for you the whole time apparently. We didn't know until he saw those dudes," Marcus explained.
"Aww. I'll have to thank him later," Emma said. She was relieved she had Josh on her side. Emma stopped walking and looked back over to Wrench, "Should we wait for…" She stopped when she saw Heather still holding on to him. He didn't seem like he was trying very hard to pull away from her. She scoffed.
Marcus looked at what she saw, "He doesn't look too happy," he chuckled.
"He doesn't look unhappy, Emma retorted.
"What do you want him to do, push her down?" Marcus asked sarcastically with a soft chuckle.
"Yes," Emma pouted. She didn't care if she was acting childish.
"Hey, he's the first one who suggested we come get you. Not that any of us disagreed, but he was out the door before we even fully knew what was happening," Marcus said defending his friend. He wasn't going to mention that his initial reason was because of Neil.
Emma wanted to believe him, but she couldn't help but think he was just being a good friend and lying for his sake. Then it dawned on her. Did they see her kissing Neil? "How much did you guys see?"
Marcus knew why she was asking, but pretended to be neutral, "There weren't many cameras in that case. Pretty much the dance floor, the bar, and the tables your friends were at."
She wasn't sure why, but she was relieved. She looked back again to Wrench and Heather. She was reaching up to his body now, holding onto his vest, getting a little too close to him. Emma then wished Wrench did see her kissing Neil. Marcus cleared his throat and she looked back at him, "Sorry…"
"You really don't have anything to worry about over there," Marcus said knowingly.
"Why would I be worried about anything?" Emma asked cooly, but on the inside she wanted to go smack Heather upside the head.
Marcus let out a soft chuckle, "Let's just get going. I got a car ready to take you home," Marcus suggested, resting his hand on Emma's upper back, guiding her. Emma nodded and once again they continued their walk.
Wrench finally escaped from Heather, who ran back inside. He started jogging back to catch up to Marcus and Emma and appeared next to Marcus, "Well that was the most annoying thing I've ever had to do!" He said whimsically, slightly out of breath.
Emma rolled her eyes, "Poor you gets all the attention," She muttered sarcastically. She didn't want to make a big deal about it, but it just slipped out. At least that's what she told herself.
"Oh yeah, getting asked out by a drunk woman is all I've ever wanted," Wrench responded back just as sarcastic, not recognizing Emma was serious.
Emma snapped her head up to look at him, "Wait, she asked you out?"
"Yeah, crazy, right?" He said. Emma didn't hear anything else that Wrench said after. She looked down the street, noticing the bus was soon pulling up. Wonderful timing, she thought, reminding herself to send thanks to the bus gods. "Pretty sure she named our firstborn, too. That or she wanted to watch that movie Annabelle with me? Idunno," Wrench joked.
"You know what? I'll take the bus," Emma said taking off Marcus' jacket to hand it to him, but he interrupted her as she was taking it off.
"N-no, it's yours for tonight. And don't be crazy, we got a car waiting right there," Marcus said.
"Thank you... Either way, thanks for the backup. I'll see you tomorrow," She said quickly and turned on her heel to walk up to the curb, waiting for the bus that was pulling up.
"What is she doing?" Wrench asked Marcus quietly.
Marcus wanted to tell him what Emma was upset about, but he couldn't hold Wrench's hand through everything."Just talk to her," Marcus said with a tap on the shoulder, "Peace!"
Wrench looked to see Emma staring hard at the bus that was pulling up and slowing down. He finally had the time to think back on how she looked that night, the moonlight adding to the affect. Emma normally had her hair down and off to one side, which he liked, but he admired how her hair looked like when it was up and he just wanted to tell her, "Emma, you look-"
"I can get home just fine by myself. You can go back and talk to Heather if you want," Emma said trying to sound neutral, but her emotions came through and sounded angrier than she intended.
Wrench was taken aback at first, not expecting the sudden outburst. But he composed himself quickly, "Wait…" Wrench's mask displayed a smile, "Are you jealous?" He asked in a teasing voice.
Emma forcefully groaned and she stepped onto the bus. He followed her on the bus, watching as she chose a seat next to the window, with the aisle seat already taken. There were many empty seats open. He knew she sat next to someone on purpose to avoid him. He went over to the middle aged woman sitting next to Emma, "Lady, mind switching seats?" He asked, annoyed, but still trying to be polite. Emma was seated with her arms crossed, but watched the scene go down glaring at Wrench.
"I was sitting here first!" The woman said with an attitude.
"Okay, let someone else take their turn," He said not even trying to hide his annoyance.
"There's other seats you know!" The woman said back.
"Then pick one," Wrench suggested in a fake calm voice.
"Wrench!" Emma hissed.
The woman scoffed and turned to Emma, "Good luck," She said as she grabbed her purse to stand up, "Asshole," She said forcefully and sat down in the next seat across the aisle.
Wrench rolled his eyes, displaying two dots on his mask, and sat down next to Emma, facing her, "After what happened in there, you're really thinking about riding a bus alone?" He asked.
"Well, you're here now, aren't you?" Emma asked, "That was really rude what you did just now."
"How else am I supposed to get you to let me talk?" He asked.
"Maybe she doesn't want to listen to you!" The woman's shrill voice called over.
Wrench had angry icons displaying on his mask from hearing the woman's voice, but ignored her, "Worry less about talking to me, and more about planning your first date with Heather?" Emma suggested, looking back out the window.
"What? You think I actually said yes?" Wrench asked.
"You obviously did!" The woman called back again.
Wrench took a quick breath and clenched his first, "oh my god, shut up," He said quietly to himself.
"What did you say!?" The woman exclaimed.
"Isaidshutup!" Wrench said quickly, turning to point at the annoying stranger.
"Okay, okay," Emma finally turned to Wrench, grabbing his outstretched arm and pulling it back so he wasn't pointing and causing a scene anymore. The stranger looked appalled at being yelled at, to which Emma let out a soft, "Sorry," to try to diffuse the situation. She turned back to Wrench, holding both of his hands, resting their hands on his thigh, "Are you crazy?" She asked.
"Are you seriously asking me that?" Wrench asked.
"Yeah, good point. You didn't say yes to Heather?" Emma asked. Everyone said yes to Heather. She had so many lovers in college. Then again, in retrospect, it was college. Everyone would say yes for a free one night stand.
"Of course not! I don't even fuckin' know her," Wrench said.
"That's the whole point of a first date!" Emma said.
"Well, I don't want to get to know her. No offense, I know she's your friend and all-"
"But she's so pretty and smart…" Emma said, "And she likes a lot of the same things as you."
But she wasn't Emma, Wrench thought, but of course not what he said, "Jesus Christ, did you want me to say yes?" He asked sarcastically.
Emma quickly let go of his hands and pulled them in her own lap, "Well, no…" She said, "You were just so nice to her at the toy store, I thought you'd be happy if she asked you out." Emma said awkwardly.
"I was just being nice because they were your friends. I don't give a shit about them!" Wrench said raising his pitch.
"Oh, big surprise!" The stranger called out one more time.
"Okay, seriously. Would. You. FUCKING-" Wrench said outstretching his arms and turning to the lady.
"Forget it, let's go," Emma quickly stood up and pulled Wrench up with her, and dragged them both to the end of the bus, where she waited for the next stop. She was still holding his hand as they were waiting. Wrench was glaring at the stranger the whole time they were waiting, "Ignore her," Emma said quietly.
"I can't help but feel like if I look away, she'll like... set me on fire or something," Wrench muttered quietly, two dashes through his mask, 'glaring' at the stranger.
"Well, she'll at least write about you in her stupid blog," Emma said. The bus stopped. Once the doors were open, she pulled Wrench out of the bus. Once they both landed on the sidewalk, she let go of his hand and started walking in the direction toward Sitara's house. She picked an early stop due to Wrench's battle with the random stranger, "You didn't have to cause a scene like that."
"I wouldn't have to if you'd just listen to me," Wrench said.
"There's always tomorrow, Wrench," Emma said.
"And let you think I was going out with her all night?" Wrench said. He shuddered at the thought. Heather was a loud woman. He didn't like that.
"Does it matter? You can do what you want with your life," Emma said, trying not to get any more upset over the thought.
"Well, clearly you're upset and that matters to me," Wrench said.
"Why the hell does that matter?" Emma asked.
He wanted to tell her the truth. He almost did due to the argument, but he stopped himself for he did, "C'mon, Emma. After everything, you're really going to ask that?" Wrench asked, being vague, "And you know what? You don't get to be mad at me for not doing anything wrong, while you're out there making out with random guys," Wrench spit out, instantly regretting it.
Emma stopped, Wrench stopped with her, afraid of what she was going to say, "You saw that?" She asked in the most calm voice possible. Marcus lied.
He was fucked, Wrench thought, "...Yeah. It wasn't to spy on you, I swear! We just wanted to make sure you were okay!"
"...And you're not okay with what you saw?" She asked calmly.
"Well, it's not that… Just," Wrench said, trying to think of the right way to word things, even if it was a lie, "You were drinking, and I didn't want him to take advantage of you," He said, proud of how easily it was to say it. It was partly true, at least.
"Neil was nice," She simply said. Wrench grimaced at the name. He wished he didn't know it, let alone have Emma know it.
"Is that all there was to it?" Emma asked carefully. She wanted him to say there was more.
"Just looking out for you. You mean a lot to me," Wrench said, withholding all the extra information he could have told her. Maybe that was his chance, he thought.
They stared at each other for a few moments, relishing in the peaceful tension between them, as opposed to the hostile one they were experiencing, "I was jealous," Emma confirmed, "You mean a lot to me, too, and the thought of someone - especially someone like Heather - taking away the time that I could be spending with you just made me angry."
"Em, listen," He said walking up closer to her, "I promise there's nothing for you to worry about. If I liked her, I'd be in there right now. But i'm not. I'm here with you." Wrench said. This was it. He thought. This is when he should tell her his feelings. But another second went by, causing another doubt. He'd have to take off his mask. Before he could even make a decision, a third voice spoke up and ended all conversation.
"There you are!" They heard behind them. Emma and Wrench both turned to look, but what they didn't expect, was a baseball bat smashing into the side of Wrench's head. Emma screamed and tried to help steady him, who fell back, leaning against a brick wall.
"Fuck," Wrench muttered as he pressed his hand to the side of his head. The impact hit his temple and cheek, protected only slightly by his mask. The right side of his goggles on his mask were cracked and he felt some of the pieces stabbing near his face. Liquid started dripping down his face that he could only assume was blood. His head was ringing, but he kept trying to focus on the fact that Emma was holding onto him, and that he had to stay focused to protect Emma from the attacker. Wrench's vision was obscured, but he looked up to see the attacker with Sam, slightly hiding his own face with his hood.
"Take your mask off! Let's see what you're trying to hide!" Sam shouted.
"Sam!" Emma shouted, looking up, "What are you doing?!" Emma asked with wide eyes, still holding onto Wrench.
"You can thank your pal Marcus for that," Sam said.
"Marcus," Wrench repeated involuntarily. He remembered that Marcus said he provoked Sam.
Emma stood in front of Wrench, despite Wrench's weak attempts to stop her, "Sam, what are you talking about?"
"Just sending a message, sweetheart," Sam said, "The first message is to get rid of this guy," He pointed his baseball bat at Wrench.
"So you do know Owen," Emma said.
Sam raised an eyebrow, "Wow, you actually figured it out."
"Yeah, it was obvious. Tell him to back off," Emma glared.
Sam smirked, "No can do. I got my orders. Now you can get out of the way, or I can mangle up your face up so you're as ugly as he is."
Wrench appreciated the small talk to recover slightly from the head blow. He slowly brought out the thunder ball, ready to strike. He quickly moved Emma to the side as he swung the thunderball hitting Sam in the face, causing him to yelp. He dropped the bat from the pain. "Run, Emma!" Wrench called out. He was going to swing again, but Sam managed to dodge by luck and counter it with a punch to Wrench's stomach. He doubled over, which gave Sam better leverage to grab his neck and slam him against the wall.
Sam leaned in to the side of his face, "Emma doesn't belong to you. Or me. She's Owen's property," He said right into Wrench's face.
"Fuck. You," Wrench almost growled. He would have spit at him if he could. Sam frowned and threw him to the side.
Emma came up to quickly grab the baseball and hit the back of Sam's head. She figured he'd go down after all the head trauma, but he apparently had other plans, "Emma?" He asked wincing. He grabbed the baseball bat from Emma, and used the movement to shove her to the ground, "You're so cute when you think you're helping."
Wrench took this opportunity to tackle him to the ground. He started punching Sam's face, who was already bloody and broken, only making it worse. She noticed Sam stopped fighting back moments ago. Emma crawled up to Wrench to wrap her hands over his arm, "Wrench, stop, you'll kill him," She said gently.
Wrench threw his last punch, making it harder than the last few hits. He was panting, out of breathe from the rage. He didn't look up at Emma, but she saw his mask was blank. She guessed it was too damaged to work properly, or he was too angry to display emotes. He crawled off of Sam, and helped Emma up, "Can you walk?" He asked. Emma nodded. Wrench went into Sam's pocket to find his phone. He dialed 911 and held it up to his ear, "Someone tried to kill my friend and I on the corner of Wilmette and Southland Drive. He's unconscious," He said into the phone and used all his remaining energy to throw it against the brick wall behind him. Wrench grabbed Emma's hand, "Come on," he said and they both walked as fast as Wrench could limp over to Sitara's apartment, which was a block away.
~~~Sitara's Apartment~~~
Wrench opened his eyes to see the bright light above him, wincing as the light shot pains through his head. He turned to his right and saw Sitara looming over him, slightly startling him, although he didn't have the energy to physically react to it, "Jesus," was all he could muster. He heard his own natural voice. He realized that he was no longer wearing his mask, inducing panic.
"Hey, relax," Sitara said gently, "Still trying to fix you up here." She was sitting on the coffee table, holding a cotton swab soaked in hydrogen peroxide. She leaned back in to continue applying it to the wounds on his face.
Wrench lazily reached his hand up to shove Sitara's arm away, "That shit hurts," He muttered, attempting to sit up.
"Yeah, well I bet a lot of shit hurts right now," Sitara said, Wrench groaning the entire time he was trying to sit up, "Lay back down," Sitara ordered, but Wrench didn't listen.
"How long was I out?" He asked, still wincing at the light, using his hand to rub the top of his head, and to fix his hood slightly.
Sitara got the hint and stood up to turn the light down, "Like a half hour," Sitara answered.
"Wait, you let me fall asleep? What if I had a concussion?" Wrench asked.
"Well, good thing you don't, right?" Sitara asked with a smile, "You could thank your mask for that, you know. Do you even remember walking in?" She asked. He passed out nearly the instant they walked inside. The adrenaline kept him walking until his body realized it was safe.
Wrench had his hand covering part of his face, unable to deal with the pounding ache in his head, "No," He said. Sitara walked back and handed him some painkillers with a glass of water, "Thanks," He muttered gladly accepting them. When he was done drinking the water, he handed the glass back to Sitara who set it back on the table. He leaned his head back on the couch, facing the ceiling, but closed his eyes.
"You got a lot of nasty scratches from your goggles breaking. You going to let me finish?" Sitara asked, holding up the cotton swab.
"Where is my mask?" He mumbled.
"Right here, but it's pretty much going to keep stabbing you. It's busted, i'm sorry," Sitara said.
"Just the goggles. I have more. Just in case…" Wrench said. The last time his mask was forcefully taken off, he made sure to make backups just in case. He didn't want Marcus or anyone endangering themselves like last time. God forbid Emma tried to go get it. Wait. Emma. His eyes snapped open, "Where's Emma?" He asked. Was she there? Did she see him without the mask? Sitara couldn't answer him fast enough.
"I made her go to the pharmacy to get some extra stuff so I could clean your wounds. Your secrets still safe," Sitara said with a smile. She respected Wrench enough to know that he'll take off his mask for her on his own terms.
Wrench let out a short chuckle, "Thanks, but you let her go by herself?" He asked.
"It's literally down stairs," Sitara said before he started overreacting. Her apartment was above a convenience store.
The door to her apartment opened, revealing Emma. Wrench started to panic. He leaned forward, hanging his head down and looked to the left to further avoid Emma's gaze. She could only see the back of his head, "Wrench, you're up!" She cheered before Sitara spoke up.
"Hey, Emma… you want to shower or something, right? Long night," Sitara suggested.
Emma eyed Sitara and frowned, but she saw Wrench's broken mask on the table behind her. She understood. She assumed that's why Sitara kept telling her to leave to get things, but she wished Sitara would have just told her upfront. Emma left the bag down by the couch. She wanted to hug Wrench and tell him it was okay, mask or no mask. But she knew he wouldn't be comfortable with it. Instead, she did what she was told and walked away from the living room toward the bathroom to take a shower, "You're not hurt, are you?" Wrench suddenly asked her. He couldn't just stay silent. Not after what happened.
Emma stopped and turned to look in his direction. It was so strange to hear his voice without the mask's voice changer affecting it, but she liked it. Really liked it. She smiled, "Thanks to you, I'm fine."
Wrench gave a half smile for a second, even though she couldn't see it. Emma turned back to the bathroom. Sitara waited for Emma to close the bathroom door, "Awww," Sitara mused.
Wrench slowly shook his head, "Keep your 'awww.' It's only a matter of time before I fuck it up again," He said.
"Then stop fucking it up," Sitara said.
"Thanks for the help," Wrench said sarcastically.
Sitara let out a laugh. "What'd you do?" She asked, relieved that the shower finally turned on. They didn't have to speak in hushed voices.
"Nothing," Wrench briefly explained the situation to Sitara, even though she knew half of it.
"You guys are basically already dating. Just make it happen," Sitara said.
Wrench scoffed, "Can you imagine how much more I would fuck it up if that were the case?" He asked. Sitara pressed the cotton swab to his face, "Ow!"
"It doesn't hurt that bad, you baby," Sitara said, "And you two just need to sit and have a loooong chat."
"Oh yeah and completely ruin any remaining chance I have," Wrench said.
"Wrench… that girl was able to tolerate you for a whole day, got jealous at the thought of you going out with someone else, and not to mention has been very patient and understanding about your mask. Take the hint," Sitara explained, putting emphasis on the last part.
"She made out with a guy," Wrench said flatly, "I got the hint."
"She was drunk," Sitara defended.
"Not that drunk," Wrench said.
"She was just having fun. I bet she doesn't even remember his name," Sitara said. It took a lot out of her not to tell Wrench the truth. That the make out buddy was just a distraction from him.
"Neil," Wrench answered almost immediately, earning an apologetic look from Sitara. He sighed leaning back into the couch, once again staring up at the ceiling, "Why am I even mad about that? We're not together," Wrench said, "I just feel like… every time Emma and I get closer, something happens to set us that much more apart."
"You're allowed to be mad, just understand her point of view, too. And no one said love was easy," Sitara said, "Or something. I don't know."
Wrench thought back when he first met Emma, how easy everything seemed. They small talked, they made jokes, but when he started making an effort to get closer to her, things kept popping up to stop it. He didn't believe in fate, but he couldn't help but think someone had it out for him to stop him and Emma from happening. But he loved being able to comfort her when she was upset, and the banter they shared when she was angry, the dumb smiles they would share when they made up. As he was staring up at the ceiling, it dawned on him on how ridiculous it all was, "Why am I even telling you all this?" He asked raising his hands up to cover his face.
"Awww, the Wrench has feelings," Sitara mocked.
"However unstable they may be!" Wrench said outstretching his arms out, acting slightly dramatic.
"We can blame it on the concussion if you want," Sitara suggested.
"You said I didn't have one!" Wrench said raising his voice as much as possible.
"Well, you did take a pretty serious blow to the head," Sitara said.
"Eh," Wrench brushed it off, "I've had worse."
"I don't know if that's optimistic or just sad," Sitara said with a smirk, trying to keep the mood light.
"Funny works," Wrench said bringing his hands down. Sitara chuckled. The shower was heard shutting off. Wrench sat back up, "What do I do?" He asked in a hushed tone.
"About what?" Sitara asked.
"About her!" Wrench said gesturing his hand to the bathroom.
Sitara thought for a moment, "What do you think you should do?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be asking!" Wrench said still trying to maintain a hushed voice so Emma wouldn't hear.
Sitara rolled her eyes when Wrench didn't play along, "What would you normally do?" She deadpanned.
"Run out the door?" Wrench asked.
Sitara gave him a curious look, "You'd really run out the door…?" She said more than asked.
"Hey, you asked me!" Wrench said.
"I'm expecting a little more than -" Sitara said, but the sound of the bathroom door opening and Emma emerging left them both silent. Emma seemed to take her sweet time getting across the hall to her bedroom. Once she made it and closed the door behind her, Sitara continued, "- you just running out the door like some dork."
"Sitara, remember," Wrench began and pointed at himself, "I fuck things up."
"Okay, so do the opposite of what you'd normally do. All the time," Sitara suggested with a slight awkward smile.
"So you want me to stay and… what… talk?" Wrench asked.
"Oh my god you're turning into Casanova!" Sitara said and stood up.
Wrench squinted his eyes at Sitara, thinking about her proposition, "Sounds nothing like me," He began and paused, "It's perfect."
"Then go!" Sitara encouraged.
"I don't know. You set the bar pretty high with the Casanova comment. Now i'm feeling all nervous and shit," Wrench said.
"Already backing down. Wow, Wrench. Didn't know you were a quitter," She said.
"You know i'm not afraid to be a little bitch sometimes," Wrench said letting a short laugh escape.
"Fine. Be the bitch. Doesn't bother me, and I'm sure it doesn't bother Emma, right?" She asked aggressively. She was tired of Wrench not taking a step forward. At least he had a reason for flaking out that night, but Sitara wished he'd take the opportunity that was dangling in front of his face. She started walking to her own bedroom.
"Aw, c'mon," Wrench said defeatedly.
Sitara put her hand to her mouth, "Biiiiiiiiitch," She drawled out quietly making Wrench roll his eyes.
Emma finished brushing her hair. She sat on the window sill, ignoring the cold air making it's way through the window. She just needed something to look at that wouldn't make her think about the night. She regretted going out. It wasn't worth it. She thought about Neil and wondered why she felt attracted to him even a little bit. She wasn't, he was just… there. However, she was happy about her and Wrench slightly making up. In retrospect maybe she was overreacting about Heather.
She heard a knock on her door followed by the sound of it opening. Emma looked over to see Sitara enter with a soft smile, "You okay?" She asked.
Emma nodded, "Better. Thanks."
"Do you need anything before I head to bed?" Sitara asked.
Emma wanted to talk to her. Girl-to-talk. But she didn't want to inconvenience her if she was trying to go to sleep. Emma smiled and quickly shook her head, "I'm alright," She lied.
Sitara winked, "Night," She said and closed the door and left.
Emma stared at the door a few moments after she left, wishing she'd come back in. Emma brought her knees to her chest, and leaned her head against the window, still not minding the cold. It was what she needed, she thought. She heard the door open again and smiled. Sitara knew Emma enough to know when something was bothering her, even without saying it. She was just going to let everything spill out and let Sitara give her genius advice, "Why doesn't he want me to-" Emma asked and turned her head to the door. But Sitara wasn't there. Wrench was and it made her heart flip. He stood without his mask or his vest on, hands digging slightly in his pockets. He looked nervous, he couldn't even make eye contact with her for more than a second at a time.
"Hey," He muttered quietly, "Um…" He trailed off. Emma studied his face. He looked so normal, she thought. Minus the cuts and bruises from the recent injury. What was he trying to hide, she wondered. She noticed a large red mark on his left eyebrow. The distance between them was too far to fully see what it was, but she assumed it was from the brawl. But he got hit on the right side of his face, not the left. It still concerned her. But he kept his face turned to the lower left part of the room, seemingly to prevent her from seeing the mark. Maybe he's always lived with it. His voice speaking again knocked her out of her trance, "I just… Well, I couldn't leave without saying anything…" He struggled to form sentences. He practiced what he was going to say to her and it all left his head, "Or… with the way things left off," He pressed on. Emma didn't really know what he was saying, but she was mesmerized by him speaking. Wrench was there, but it was a new Wrench. The same Wrench, the same voice, but… organic, she thought. "Anyway, I'm sorry," He said and turned to walk out.
It was only when the door closed that she really realized he left.
Wrench closed the door behind him and he exhaled. He didn't even know what he was saying, but he was nervous. She saw him. She didn't say anything. Did she hate him now? He wondered. Before he could start wallowing in his own self hatred, the door to Emma's room opened. He heard it, but he didn't enough have enough time to turn around before Emma threw her arms around Wrench, hugging him from behind. She loved not worrying about the spikes. She was smiling into his back.
Wrench wasn't sure how to handle it. Did that mean she was okay with being in front of the Wrench that he didn't even like looking back at? Of course, she didn't have the memories he did when he looked back. He assumed he was just being paranoid, but he felt his bad history was written all over his face.
Emma slowly let go of him and let him turn around to look at her. She held his hand with both of hers and smiled, "See you tomorrow?" She asked.
Wrench let the corner of his mouth twitch into a smile, "See you tomorrow," He confirmed. That was all she needed to say. To let him know that they're okay.
She walked backwards, letting their hands slowly separate, "Good night," She said smiling with a slight blush.
"Goodnight," He muttered quietly back as she closed the door to her bedroom. His eyes lingered on the closed door for a few seconds longer. Part of him wanted to go in there, but he thought about what Sitara said. Just do the opposite of what you'd normally do and he was amused that it was actually sound advice. He let a real smile form on his face, however small it may be. At that moment, he didn't need the mask to tell the world how he felt.