Love me, Love me

•~17~•

A/N: This chapter is from the POV of Arthur/Orange. It's a little more violent so if that makes you uncomfortable, don't read. Make sure to stay safe :). Enjoyyyy

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My hands were working fast as I tried to fix the wiring in Electrical that somehow broke again. Gregory was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, staring at nothing. I tried to focus, twisting the ends of the wires together. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to him, this just needed to get done. It was actually quite difficult for me to keep from speaking. It was even harder when he decided to start a conversation.

"Have you ever... dated someone before?" he asked, still keeping his eyes from mine.

I glanced over at him to no reaction. "Not officially. I tend to keep to myself when it comes to meeting people. That's probably why this was good for me. I didn't have to try since we were all forced together."

"I haven't either," he said thoughtfully, resting his arms on his knees as he let out a breath. "I'm sorry if I don't know how this works. It's new to me."

I was about to reassure him when I heard muffled voices coming from the hall. I couldn't make out what they were saying but they sounded angry. Gregory and I shared a look before we stood and walked to the door. Elena and Nathan stood in the hallway, whispering tense words. They noticed us and immediately smiled, waving awkwardly.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, shaking my head in confusion.

"Nope," Elena said quickly, tone brighter than usual. "See you later."

They rushed off in the direction of the lower engine and disappeared into the boys' dorm. I tried not to think about their strange behaviour but it bothered me. Elena was in charge of our course and I didn't want to stray from our destination. I was actually quite curious about where we were going. I had the right to be after they insisted on keeping me in the dark.

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I wasn't thinking about what I should've been thinking about. My mind had wandered from future plans to the wellness of my mother. Her mobility wasn't getting any better and I needed to provide for us. I already was but I needed to do better. There had to be something I could do to make a lot of money without going to college. Let's face it, I had the intelligence of a college graduate without ever taking a college course. I just needed someone to take a chance on me.

"As I live and breathe, Artie!!" I heard the shrill voice echo through my house.

My eyebrows furrowed as I turned from my spot in the kitchen, finding a woman in a dark suit and black hair. She wore her famous black bowler hat and leather gloves for the cold. She was holding a briefcase and wore a pair of expensive looking sunglasses. I stepped out of the kitchen to get a better look at her. "Aunt Connie?"

"I haven't seen you in forever! Give me a hug," she ordered, opening her arms for me to hug her.

I smiled, wrapping my arms around her torso as she clung to my neck. I picked her up and swung her in the air as she laughed. When I put her down, I looked at her with wide eyes. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in ages."

"I was in town on business so I thought I'd pay you and Amy a visit. Where is dear old sis?" she asked, looking around the small space.

"Actually, she was admitted back into the hospital last night. She's usually quiet about the pain but last night was so brutal that I took her to the emergency room," I explained, nodding as I did.

"Well, that's terrible. Do you need money for the bill-?"

"I've told you a hundred times that I'm not taking money from you, Aunt C. We don't need charity. I just need a stable job-"

"Say no more," she said, raising a hand and grinning evilly at me. "I have the perfect job for you."

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"You know, you could teach me how to help and you wouldn't be so exhausted," I said to June as we sat on the floor of Medbay. "There's going to be more injuries and you can't handle them all by yourself-"

"That really is kind, Arthur. I just want to prove that I'm not useless, you know?" she said, shaking her head a little.

"I think you've already done that," I scoffed, smiling at her now. "Can you just let me help you?"

Before she could answer, the lights shut off and darkness surrounded us. I stood quickly, straining my eyes to see things but ultimately failing. I felt a hand on my chest and figured it was June, grabbing her by the shoulders so I didn't lose track of her.

"I'm gonna go to Electrical to fix the lights, you stay here in case someone needs help," I said, nodding as I kept a hand on the wall to guide myself.

I walked out the doorway and then turned to the left, feeling my way down the hall. It was easier than I thought it would be, probably because I'd been subconsciously memorizing the ship. I reached Security quickly, glancing at the screens to find that they were working. The security cameras must've had night vision. I saw Juniper outside Medbay, myself outside Security, Elena and Nathan outside Navigation, and no one outside Admin. I pulled myself away from the visuals, rushing to Electrical.

I reached it more quickly than I expected, going to the panel and crouching. I had left a toolkit on the floor and there was a small flashlight inside. I found it, turning it on and placing it in my mouth with it pointed at the tall panel. I adjusted the switches, waiting for the small lights to turn green. Once I'd fixed all of them, the lights blared. I smiled and stood, turning around to find Mateo behind me.

He had a solemn appearance as he stared wide eyed at me. I furrowed my brows as I got a glimpse of a splatter of red on his lime green suit. He was covered in blood.

"Hey. What're you-?"

"I don't wanna hurt you, man," he said, stepping closer to me. "I don't have much of a choice though, do I?"

My eyes widened as I felt my back press against the monstrous panel I was just fixing. "Mateo, you don't have to do this-"

"I'm sorry, Arthur," he said, expression angry even though I could see tears streaming down his cheeks.

I couldn't register where he cut me first but it felt like it was along my side. It got more difficult to tell since the pain spread throughout my entire body. I lost control of my legs, sliding down to the ground and clutching my wound. There was a ringing in my ears that I ignored, my eyes panicking around the walls. Something was spilling over my lips and I soon realized that it was blood. 

The next clear thing I saw was sparks and flying electricity. He was destroying the panel, colours shooting about the room in a frenzy. The lights dimmed again but I was unsure if it was due to my eyes shutting or the electricity wearing thin. Either way, it went dark and I was left sitting in stinging pain, unable to call for help. Unable to call for Gregory.

WORD COUNT: 1244

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