automatic stop, bradley bradshaw

two.

SKYE DIDN'T FREQUENTLY CONSIDER HERSELF TO BE DRAMATIC. okay, that was a lie. she knew very well that she was almost as dramatic as they came, and that she'd most definitely gotten it from her father. however, she was going to continue holding her newfound grudge. 

bradley (rooster, whatever) was now attempting to remain on good terms with her. considering how much she'd wanted to be friends with him again before, she'd assumed that this would make her happy. instead, skye was only annoyed.

why was it that he'd ignored her for years in the naval academy only to then pretend nothing had happened? 

on the night before their first day at top gun, skye had managed to convince katia to go to the hard deck. the bar was known for being the place to go if you were in the navy, and they weren't surprised when they saw multiple groups of people (some of whom had known each other from their own respective squadrons) in uniform. 

skye ordered a beer for both girls before making her way over to the pool table, where a group of men stood. they all seemed to raise their eyebrows as they noticed the two women. 

"what do we have here?" one of the guys in the background asked, making both girls roll their eyes. 

another women then got up from her spot on a table. "finally, i'm not alone." she said, walking over to them. "i'm natasha trace, callsign phoenix." 

skye took her outstretched hand. "skye mitchell, callsign riot. this is katia kazansky, my wso, callsign havoc." 

phoenix smiled, raising an impressed brow. "mitchell and kazansky? you two are things of legend." 

this made katia laugh. "mitchell and kazansky in the flesh." she confirmed, bringing her beer up to her lips. "so are you guys all headed to mirimar too?" 

"yeah," phoenix nodded, "me and those guys over there," she gestured to a group of three, "all came from the same squadron. that's my backseater, fang, and my buddies fanboy and payback." 

almost immediately, the three men made their way over to the three women. "making new friends, phe?" fanboy asked, an easy smile on his lips. 

she nodded. "this is skye mitchell and katia kazansky." 

fang raised a brow, almost in the same way phoenix had. "mitchell and kazansky?" 

skye chuckled. "are you guys all going to be this surprised to hear our last names?" 

payback laughed. "no, man, i mean.. it's just crazy. both of your dads were something of legends around these parts." 

the brunette nodded. "yeah, so i've been told for the past twenty-three years." 

phoenix tilted her head. "fair enough. hey, what do you all say to a round of 8-ball?" she grabbed a pool stick, handing another one to both women. "kazansky, you can break it." 

katia started the game, and she and skye were honestly beating everyone's asses for a while when another man showed up, a smirk on his lips. 

"who might you all be?" he asked, and the way phoenix almost stiffened made skye know that he must've been in her squadron as well. 

she turned around. "skye mitchell, you can call me riot." 

he had a toothpick between his teeth, and he shifted it from the left side of his mouth to the right, a smile still on his face. "i'm jake seresin, you can call me hangman." 

skye raised a brow. "like the game?" 

"the one and only." he confirmed, moving so that one of his arms was on the side of the pool table, dangerously close to her body.