#swiftattacker

“Tougher than you,” he scoffs, gesturing vaguely; “what’s that, a fuckin’ taser?” I’m fine, he had insisted, as Jamie had helped him up, as he had pulled away like touching an open flame. Shaken by the sleeper’s hands pressing down on his throat, kicking in the dust, weapon tumbling off in his peripherals.  He smiles faintly, unconvincingly. “I don’t need you to take care of me anymore.” He’s always hated this–how good Jamie is at calling him on every bluff, every lie through the teeth. He could read him, and especially now, panic a threatening undertow to yank him under at the next chaotic situation. “I’m fine,” he repeats firmly in the quiet tunnel, scraped up and exhausted, blinking back saltwater. “Let’s just keep going.”

Well, she got him there.

Pausing, Tommy carefully shoulders his jacket off, wincing as it brushes over a  wound on his arm and sends a bolt of pain up his nerves. He turns back to her, approaches slowly and tentatively. “Here,” he says through a slight chatter in his teeth, “hold onto this for me for a bit–I, uh, know it’s not the most fashionable thing.” It’s a quiet attempt to lighten the otherwise grim situation, as he pulls the denim jacket over her shoulders. 

     ‘       what’s   wrong,   man?   come   on,   i   thought   we   were   gettin’   somewhere!       '       he   shouts   after   the   other   boy   when   jamie   turns   away   from   him,   and   the   other's   dismissal   settles   uncomfortably,   makes   him   feel   cornered,   panicked.   he   feels   agitation   burning   beneath   his   skin,   desperate   to   find   a   way   to   the   surface.   it   has   his   hands,   shaking   and   unsteady,   at   his   sides,   and   he   breathes   fast   and   sharp.       '       hey!       you,   uh...   you   want   some   help?   maybe   you   should   talk   to   your   girlfriend,   you   know,   there's   some   help   for   you!       '       vague   words   are   called   after   him   like   a   warning   and   a   threat,   voice   unstable   and   lingering   heavy   in   the   air   with   only   the   trees   and   silence   of   the   forest   surrounding   them.   he   mumbles   inaudibly   to   himself   as   he   shoves   items   back   into   his   worn   backpack,   content   with   having   the   last   word.

It’s a traincar–the space is limited, the sound system more like someone’s phone, and the beer not-great, but it’s something. In the midst of sleepless nights, it’s a fragment of normalcy. “This the only party you’re gonna come to, huh?” it’s teasing, or fond–probably both. He doesn’t give the other the opportunity to duck him–he knows Jamie’s efforts to do so would only be half-hearted, anyway. Pulling him in with the crook of his elbow, he poorly aims a kiss–it catches the corner of Jamie’s lips, but Graham’s warm with a buzz and very-much not apologetic when he pulls away. “Please stay a bit, they’re killing me, at like, every video game.”

He’s sprawled out on his back, now, half hanging off the train car as he regards Jamie’s entrance, upside-down and pouting. “You only took forever,” it’s melodrama, naturally, but he’s grinning now, easy, ridiculous from his position, worry and unease dropping off his shoulders. The simplicity of the interaction feels correct, a dislocated bone trying its best to shift back into place. “Starving, dying, Jamie.” He rolls over, hops up to his feet with a spring in his step. “The nerds are playing, uh, dragons and wizards or whatever.” A bated pause as he shifts on his heels, like he’s working over something in his head. Seeming to resolve it, he hops down from the car, gently shoulders by Jamie with a flash of a smile. “C’mon, I’m bored, I wanna go for a drive.”

          '       NO,   no,   you   really   don't   get   it.       '       her   voice   is   slow,   pointed,   high   with   agitation.   she's   more   annoyed   with   the   possibility   of   her   pain   coming   from   more   than   just   a   cramp   than   she   is   frightened   by   it.   she   whines   out   quietly,   tries   to   cope   with   the   sharpness   of   the   pain   that   way.   she   presses   on,   insistent,   not   paying   enough   attention   to   just   how   loud   her   voice   is.       '       i   don't   need   help,   what   i   need   is   to   go   to   cheer   practice   tomorrow.   what   am   i   supposed   to   tell   my   coach,   that   i   was   trespassing   in   someone's   house   and   that's   why   my   ankle's   so   fucked   up?!       '       she   tries   to   put   weight   on   that   ankle   again,   immediately   gasps   from   the   pain   that   shoots   through   her   as   she   gives   in   with   a   loud   and   dramatic   groan,   leaning   into   his   body   weight   for   support.       '       great.   could   this   get   any   worse   ?!       '

      jamie's   words   reach   him   and   he   finds   himself   GRINNING,   not   that   he   expects   the   other   boy   to   know   why.   he   doesn't   know   why,   jason   remembers,   and   that's   the   best   part.       '       yeah...   yeah,   i   think   i   can   handle   a   lot   more   than   you   know.       '       he   answers,   short   and   vague,   and   he   finishes   closing   up   his   backpack,   pulling   it   off   of   the   table   in   front   of   him   to   throw   it   over   his   shoulder   instead.   he   looks   at   jamie   for   only   a   brief   moment   as   he   passes   him,   finds   satisfaction   knowing   that   this   guy   doesn't   know   kaz,   doesn't   know   THE   TRUTH   about   her   like   he   does.   jason   briefly   wonders   if   he's   even   seen   her   in   the   same   way   he   has,   when   she's   bare   and   exposed.   he   stops   to   pull   dark   hood   up   over   his   head,   covering   messy   hair.       '       you   coming?       '