Oh look another chapter. Apologies for the lack of Wick/Raven interaction. Hopefully you still enjoy the read. The chapter does have some important info so maybe that will make it up to you! Thanks again to all of you who are reading/commenting!

Wick's POV

The expectations Kyle Wick had when asking Raven to fix his truck were more than exceeded by her response. He hadn't been trying to make a move. In fact, all he was after was an excuse to drive her home from work in the below freezing temperatures.

Had it of been anyone else asleep on his couch all day, he would have been annoyed. Because it's her though, he's happy. Every time he walked past the living room he peered in, smiling at her peaceful face and readjusting her blanket as needed. It was a nice change of pace, having someone else there, someone else to take care of.

To pass the time he did some research online, looking into a few solutions for the pressure regulator and hoping to have something to offer her when she woke up. Solving this problem didn't really impact him. Sure, building a rocket that would actually operate would be great, but there was no significance in the accomplishment one way or the other. The one thing that kept him so tirelessly working is the fact that he knew Raven was counting on him. Even though she acted like he was the biggest idiot the western hemisphere had seen in a century, he knew she also was waiting for him to pull through for her. So he kept trying, in hopes that he might be rewarded with a one of a kind Raven Reyes smile.

Watching her struggle with her brace that morning had been difficult to say the least. She looked as though she was in so much pain, her face bright red and her teeth clenched. In all this time of seeing her brace and wondering about it and considering what had happened to her leg, Wick hadn't actually thought that it could cause her so much misery. She got around so well and seemed to pay it so little attention; never did he think that the pain from it could reduce her to tears.

Moving to take off her brace had been a moment of both blind bravery and utter stupidity. He might not know her all that well yet, but he knew she didn't like help. But he also knew that she hated asking for help even more than asking for it. Her relent had been worth it in the end, especially when he saw the angry red marks on her ankle where her pants had ridden up. It was unfortunate that the one thing that allowed her some form of independent mobility also caused her so much pain.

For sure he thought she would run off after that. When her food was gone and there had been nothing left for her, no reason for her to stay behind, he knew she'd be eager to go. But the very idea of her putting that brace back on so soon after taking it off in who knows how long…not to mention trying to walk. The thought sent fear crawling across his spine and a phantom pain shooting down his own leg. She had to know better than to try. The fact that she agreed to stay on his couch with him tells him that she was desperate.

Not once does she berate him as he pokes her shoulder and shares trivial information about the show or jokes on the commercials. She doesn't always smile, but she does tolerate. That's good enough for him.

When the sun is long gone and the TV has turned into a variety of different news broadcasts and terrible infomercials, Wick turns it off. He was sick of the sound more than anything else. The following silence, and almost utter darkness, leaves the room feeling heavy and tense. "I should go home," she whispers.

"I'll go warm up the truck," he answers, not bothering to persuade her any longer. It was far past the time he ever expected her to stay. "Be right back," he promises, flipping on the light switch as he makes his way to the door. He shoves his feet into shoes as Raven lifts her brace, heaving her bad leg up onto the couch and stretching it out in front of her.

Though he's curious, if he just had the chance to understand how that thing worked he's convinced he could make her something more functional, he doesn't look. He knows the leg thing is a touchy subject. There had been enough boundaries crossed without delving into that.

He starts the truck, cold air blasting from the vents as the engine turns over. He leans back in the seat, running a hand through his hair and trying to clear his mind. Every thought was muddled with Raven. It was as though someone took every aspect of his life and rearranged it to somehow revolve around this damn girl. He didn't ask for this.

It wasn't like he hadn't crushed on other girls before. Lizzie Marsh in his freshman year of high school about did him in. As did his first girlfriend. She was tall and blonde and he was sixteen and in utter shock that she had agreed to date him. In college there'd been a string of girls. Many that he liked well enough, some that he took on multiple dates…most who he banged after the fact. There'd been one other girl he'd properly cared about. Emily had been the one to make him forget about himself for the first time. He lost everything in her eyes and had trouble finding it again.

His whole life was devoured by this girl, which wasn't exactly the best thing to happen during his sophomore year at college. She didn't seem to care that his entire existence became exclusively about her, she also didn't appreciate it. She complained and bitched and didn't care how he felt about anything one way or the other. After the fact he realised he didn't genuinely love her. He was infatuated. She was someone in love with being admired.

But Raven…she was different. He wasn't prepared for how she made him feel. He wasn't prepared to fall so hard that he couldn't even catch himself on the way down.

She makes her way downstairs after a few minutes, the air only just starting to turn from freezing fucking cold to slightly warmer than his icicles for hands. He makes a point not to watch her descend the stairs or pay attention as she heaves herself into the truck. She shivers and wraps her arms around her waist. "Seatbelt," he reminds her. It seemed she always forgot.

Neither of them speak as he begins to drive away, an easy grip on the steering wheel as he leans over and switches the radio on. "What kind of music do you like?" he asks as he scans past commercials.

"Anything is fine," she says so he settles on some low murmuring country. The guy drawls about lost love and his beer running out for a minute before Raven leans forward and hits the scan button again. "Correction," she says, pausing only a second on each station before tuning to another. "Anything but that is fine."

Normally he might be insulted, but he can't mind as she seeks through the stations and flops back when she finds a song. She reaches forward once more to fix the heat on her. "So no country music," Wick nods, documenting the small bit of information for later. "I hate rap."

"Tragic," Raven says, leaning forward and scrolling through with new found determination. She stops on the hip hop station and turns it up, a wicked smile on her face. "Just so happens I like it."

If a smile wasn't lingering behind her smug expression he'd probably fight her on it. When she starts rapping along with one of the verses he knows that there's no chance in hell that he's touching that radio for the rest of the ride.

Though he's only driven there twice, he finds his way to her place with ease. The road passes by them with only the sound of tires and the radio to fill their minds. Traffic is light, a flurry of snow beginning to fall from the sky. It was a pretty sight, though he hadn't quite been ready for snow three weeks before Christmas.

"Sorry again," Raven says as one song ends on the station and the DJ begins to speak. Wick reaches forward and dials down the volume. "About today."

It's not hard to imagine why she was apologising. In his mind though, he can't fathom why she would. He'd been honoured to spend a bit more time with her, to learn a little more. Though their momentary closeness as he helped with her brace today had been out of necessity, he felt a little bit closer to her. Just slightly more trusted. "Don't bother," he says, turning onto the street for her trailer park. "It's nice to have someone to watch reruns with."

"Still," she says, unbuckling her seat belt before he's even turned down the road for where she lives. "I didn't mean to take up you're living room and not even fix your truck."

"You were tired. I don't think anyone can blame you." Well he's sure people could but he wasn't about to. The idea had been to try and help her anyway. At least he felt like he'd been able to do that.

She shrugs in response. "When will you be back at work?" Raven asks as he puts the car in park outside her place.

"Couple weeks," he answers without bothering to hide the disdain in his voice. "Dayshift sucks." She nods, as if agreeing. He knows she works the dayshift, in addition with her night shift, all the time though.

Raven still doesn't move to get out of the truck. Another rap song starts playing in the background. The vulgar lyrics almost have Wick switching off the radio out of preservation of whatever innocence he had left. As if there was any.

"Well if you still want me to work on your truck I guess let me know…" she hesitates and he understands why. There wasn't really a good way to let her know. "I don't work Tuesday."

Wick does work Tuesday. He'll call Miller in the morning and beg him to switch days off. "Yeah! I mean, that should work. If you don't mind working on your day off."

The answering look she casts him tells him that she doesn't have many days off. Perhaps she would be grateful for something to do. "Not at all. It'll be good practice."

"I'll pick you up Tuesday morning then?"

Raven nods, finally moving to open her door. "That would be good." She slides to the ground, landing fully on her right leg before allowing her left to bear any weight. "See you then." She shuts the door and walks toward the trailer door.

"See you then," Wick whispers back to himself. He notices how her house is completely dark and how no one is at the door when she walks inside.

He tries not to think about her being alone.

Instead he's reminded of the darkness of his own apartment as he slips inside and how no one is there to greet him either.

It takes some mild begging to get Miller to agree. Kyle had been prepared to offer his first born if he hadn't managed to wear him down any other way. Turns out Miller took pity enough to say yes once Wick had explained the situation. It seemed that Miller might be a sap after all. Wick would make sure to let Monty know.

What he doesn't expect to happen from there is the excited feeling building inside him, like a child getting ready for Christmas, or the way his stomach turned at just the thought of her.

She was so simple, barely anything really. But somewhere along the way Wick decided that he wanted her to be his barely anything. Maybe it was the solitude finally eating him from the inside out. Maybe it was his aunt who Facebook messaged him every couple months and asked if he had a girlfriend yet. It might just be that he missed being with someone in a capacity greater than a co-worker. He'd lost so many other roles in recent years. He was eager at the opportunity to gain one. Friend was never a title that Kyle thought he'd lose. Somehow it managed to be buried in the wreckage of every other lost identity marker.

He does what he can to forget about her. At night he tries not to remember the way she mumbles in her sleep and during the day he does his best to forget that she'd sat there with tears in her eyes as she struggled to remove her leg brace.

Every day he made a point to ignore these thoughts. Push them away and pretend they didn't exist. Something about them felt wrong, almost dirty. As if there was some sixth sense he possessed which let him know that Raven would not like him thinking about how cute she was when she snored. Also, she was his friend. And friends didn't think about each other like that.

Both of them seemed to need a friend. Who was he to screw that up?

On Saturday night he finds himself amped, unable to relax after working all day. He's more than grateful when Monty calls, inviting him 'out with the guys.' Wick is quick to take up the offer.

"Great," Monty says when he agrees. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you invite Miller along too. After all, you said you work with him."

"You're such a slut, Monty," Wick jokes but doesn't complain, calling Miller for the second time in a few days and inviting him to join.

He meets the group at the same place as a couple weekends ago, the scene similar as to the one he walked into then. The only difference was in the company he held. Monty looks up when Wick walks in, eyes wide when the door opens and falling with disappointment when he sees who it is.

"Dude," Wick says as he slides into the booth. "Bit of suggestion. If you don't want to look like a lovesick puppy don't keep staring at the door." He expects some sort of argument, but instead Monty just turns slightly red and pretends to be infatuated with the menu.

Kyle makes a point to greet everyone else, surprising himself by remembering everyone. Jasper sat across from Monty, drumming his fingers on the table and glancing at his phone every few minutes. Bellamy sat on the end, looking somewhat bored with everyone and nursing a beer. Lincoln just looked uncomfortable.

The table is silent, a lack of chatter evident as Monty keeps scanning the door and Jasper his phone. What a pathetic bunch.

"So," Kyle says after a minute. He hadn't come out to watch some nerds pine and a couple of other dudes stare down at the table. "What does everyone do for a living?" It was the sort of boring question he kind of hated to ask. It also reminded him of how old he is. Maybe he'd order a beer as well.

Monty and Jasper needn't reply. Which is probably for the best since neither of them even look at him. "I work hospital security," Lincoln answers, sitting up straighter. It dawns on Wick then how large of a man this guy is. And also the fact that everyone at this table, aside perhaps from Bellamy, works at that damn hospital. Were there no other jobs in the county?

"Still in school," Bellamy answers, not elaborating on what for. "I work as a helper at a day-care centre though." That was not what Kyle had been expecting. Bellamy hardly looked like the warm and fuzzy kid type.

"I know what you're thinking," Jasper interjects. He finally pockets his phone. "But Bellamy here is just a big old softy. Ask Clarke if you don't believe me."

The death glare Jasper receives is enough to make him scoot further against the wall, as if it could protect him from Bellamy. "Please," Monty interjects. He was talking more to Jasper than anyone else. "Find any woman and Bellamy is as limp as a noodle." Kyle tries not to laugh. He really does. "Octavia?" Monty says by way of example. "Even Raven for that matter."

That dries up the laughter no problem. "Raven?" Wick is asking before he can filter his words. The word to him was like a trigger. Hear it once and he couldn't help but hone in. "How did you meet her anyway?"

Now Monty is giving him some devilish look with wiggling eyebrows. Jokes on him though, while he's making that ridiculous face Miller joins them in the booth. "Hey guys," Miller greets with a nod in everyone's direction before picking up a menu. Wick almost feels bad for Monty that he doesn't receive any sort of special recognition.

Not bad enough to deter him from his earlier question. He turns back to face Bellamy, question on the tip of his tongue when he's next interrupted by the waitress. When it comes his turn to order he asks for a beer and the first thing on the menu. His patience was wearing thin.

Once she's gone conversation picks up amongst everyone for a moment. Wick waits until there's the slightest lull before repeating her question. "How'd you meet Raven again?"

Perhaps it's a bit obvious, at least Bellamy seems to think so as he kind of shoots him a look. Wick doesn't particularly care though. Not right now at least. "I guess the way most of us met her," he says, scanning around the table as everyone either shrugged or nodded. "Finn."

The question burns in his mouth. He considers biting his tongue and letting this die out. It was most likely information Raven wouldn't want him to have anyway. She was always so private. "Who's Finn?" He considers it, but his desire to know the answer wins out.

"He was her best friend since forever," Jasper volunteers. "Then at some point they started dating. It was kind of just the natural progression of things."

"Octavia always said that Raven loved Finn as if there was no one else in the world to care about," Lincoln volunteers. "She said that no matter how hard she tried to get Raven to open up she knew that it would never happen when she had Finn to rely on."

"I don't want to say he was all she cared about but…" Jasper says and then dies out.

Bellamy interrupts before he can carry on. "She's always been the reserved type. I didn't pay her much attention when we were younger, but she was different than everyone else in school." Wick can tell there's information he's leaving out, but he doesn't press. "Finn made her a little more human. It was like she couldn't function without him."

Kyle tries to picture the image of this girl that they're painting. He attempts and fails to envision Raven as a dependent girl who needed one person alone to turn her into herself. It didn't add up with the person he knew. Then again, he figures, people change. "Well what happened?"

The group almost collectively sighs and moves to stare down at something else. "Well that's the story for how we met Clarke," Bellamy answers after a minute.

Someone brings Wick his beer and he thanks them quietly, not hesitating to drink. It tasted a bit like piss, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The guilt of asking these questions was getting to him, as were the answers he had a feeling he was not going to like.

"She moved to town a couple of summers ago, right after school had ended. She didn't socialise much, none of us even knew she existed." Bellamy cuts off, shaking his head. "Finn was volunteering at the hospital that summer. Clarke did the same."

Kyle felt very certain he knew exactly where this was going.

"Clarke didn't know any better," Bellamy says, clearing his throat and going back to his drink.

Jasper moves to pick up where he'd left off. "Finn essentially started dating Clarke too. A couple months in Raven went to go visit him at the hospital one day and saw them…canoodling."

"Shit," Wick breathes out, shaking his head. "What a jackass."

"We're not done." As if there could be anything worse. "She was furious, of course. Clarke broke up with him immediately. Shit went down with Raven's leg and Finn did what he could to get back on her good side."

"We figure he felt guilty," Monty volunteers. "After all, he not only cheated on his girlfriend but then she ended up with a screwed up leg. It wasn't a good few months for Raven."

The food comes, cutting off the conversation for a minute as everyone accepts their food and thank the waiter. "Anyways," Jasper says, dunking a mozzarella stick in some marinara and taking a bite. "None of us know exactly what went down but we know she broke up with him for good like, the day she got out of the hospital."

"Good for her," Wick considers, taking a bite out of his burger and being pleasantly surprised.

"Still not done," Lincoln grunts as he dumps some ketchup on his plate.

"From like, December to July Finn was just kind of there without being here," Bellamy starts up again, concentration focused on his food more than the conversation. "He was around at school Clarke said, but she didn't talk to him much. Apparently him and Raven were still friends? No one really knows what was going on with those two at that point."

The whole table grows silent then. No one makes a move to continue eating; no one even so much as clears their throat. "And then?" he prompts. Again something in the back of his mind reminds him that Raven wouldn't want these people spilling her secrets, her history. He knows that this should be information that he gets from her, not a bunch of guys he barely knows. But he can't stop them now. These few pieces have already helped him to connect Raven a little more clearly.

"And then Clarke was driving him home some night in July, they both still worked at the hospital," Monty says, playing with the french fries on his plate but not eating any. "Some guy blew through a red light and smashed into Finn's side of the car. There was some metal or glass or something that went straight through his ribs and into his heart, which is just bad luck if you ask me."

Jasper must kick Monty under the table as he jumps slightly and then stops talking. Bellamy takes a breath and finishes. "He bled out as soon as they tried to remove it in the operating room. He died and Raven never recovered."

People died all the time. Of all people, Wick understood that. Life was fleeting, there was no promise that you would live to see tomorrow. It was harder to think of the people left behind. It was harder to think of Raven, so in love with one person, to lose him so completely. "Wow," he finally mutters after a minute. His burger looked much less appealing than before.

"Yeah," Bellamy answers in a gruff voice. He clears his throat and takes a long draw of beer. "It was a rough time for everyone." But it was the hardest for Raven. The words go unspoken. They hover in the air regardless.

That night Wick drives home. Raven intrudes every thought as he tries to make sense of the girl he knew and the girl she apparently once was. She was now someone composed of disappointment and tragedy.

Maybe it was wrong for him to have this new information regarding his tenuous friend, but he goes to bed that night knowing she deserved so much more. From him, from her friends, and from the universe itself. She deserved so much fucking more. And he'd be damned if he wasn't the one to make sure she got it.