Innocent Bystander

Chapter Eleven: Love And War

AN: This is it. This is the climax. This is where it all comes to a head.

TW: "Depictions of Violence".

This is also where the plot of the story drifts from canon to an extent (aside from the whole soulmate thing). I'm not going to spoil exactly how it does, but let's just say, if this fic were entirely canon-compliant, it would have been tagged with "Major Character Death" in the AO3 version. Also, cringe warning. It's the writing romance despite being single my whole life for me.

With all that said, *inhales aggressively*

BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS PEOPLE, TEEN WOLF FANDOM OR WHOEVER IS READING THIS AT THIS SPECTACULAR TIME IN YOUR LIFE BECAUSE IN ONE LONG-ISH CHAPTER I AM GOING TO WRITE YOU A THING THAT I ONLY LEARNED ABOUT PRIOR TO WRITING THIS FIC BECAUSE I USED FROY GUTIERREZ AS THE FACE CLAIM FOR A HARRY POTTER OC AND NOW I'M INVESTED SO SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, AND ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE OF MY 4:59-PM-MALL-FOOD-COURT-GRUB-ENERGY-PINTEREST-INDUCED-WAITING-FOR-BB23-FUELED-WRITING-EXTRAVAGANZA ABOUT A GIRL WHO'S ALWAYS IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME AND WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS DA'GGUM NEAR THE GREATEST THING YOU WILL EVER READ IN A 15 MINUTE TIME FRAME.

(Credit to that kid Brandon Knight who wrote an essay with a similar intro. The meme's on iFunny, and I know we don't like iFunny, but I'm desperate.)

Before I could process what I'd just heard, the gunfire started. Luckily, Nolan and I were sitting side by side against the wall that was back on to the gunfire. I started to have a panic attack right then and there. Sure, Gabe was the one shooting, but I feared for Nolan and everyone else who was in danger. Nolan must have sensed my anxiety acting up because he wrapped his arms around me and held me so close that I was practically in his lap, shielding me from harm despite being terrified himself. I felt safe as I curled up in a ball in his arms, but I knew if Gabe came around the corner, he'd kill Nolan for sure - for multiple reasons.

After what seemed like an eternity, The gun noises finally ceased. After a moment of white noise, At that point, I slowly looked up, only to meet Nolan's gaze, the same gaze I'd met in the library the other day. Our faces were pretty close together this time, so, just like we both had in the library the Friday before, I got a little flustered, but not as much as I would have had we not just been shielding ourselves from Gabe's version of trigger-happy havoc. Finally, Nolan spoke.

"I just wanted to tell you," He whispered, "The words on my wrist turned blue after you said them to me."

"Wait, really?" I asked although I knew full well what the answer was.

Nolan rolled up his sleeve and showed me his wrist. Just like Dad mentioned, it said "Why's he getting beaten up?" - and the ink was blue.

"You know," He stated, "I think I knew from the moment I first saw you that you were the one... And to be honest, I wouldn't've wanted it any other way."

We eyed each other for another moment. My gaze shifted from his eyes to his lips repeatedly, just like they would've in some cliche romance novel. This was it. Yeah, there was a war raging on around us, but it was now or never. I couldn't hold back anymore; I gently closed my eyes and the next thing I knew my lips were on his.

First kisses are supposed to be really awkward and cringe-inducing, but it didn't feel that bad to me for some reason. In fact, it felt amazing. His lips were soft and heaven-sent. I felt like I was on Cloud Nine and there was no bringing me down.

When we finally pulled apart - just a tiny bit - I noticed the colour of my ink had changed from blue to green. The words on Nolan's wrist had done the same. I looked up at him and I could see his pupils dilate slightly.