Outstanding

Chapter 9

"What did you say?"

I didn't need to turn to face Danse in order to know he was glaring. I could feel his icy stare piercing my back, as a shiver passed down my spine. "I'm the General of the Minutemen." I continued my pace downhill.

I didn't hear Danse's footfalls till I reached the rusted fence. "You're the General?" He repeated, his voice strained with barely contained anger. "But how, when?"

"A week after I left the vault."

"A week?"

"I did tell you the General was green, didn't I?"

"Yes but you didn't tell me it was you."

"I didn't say it wasn't though."

He let out a half groan, half sigh of frustration. "Omission is the same as lying Y/N." He said through clenched teeth. "You hid the truth."

My shoulders braced with his words. While true, his tone of voice unsettled something within me. "I ..." I said quietly, looking down at anything that wasn't him.

"What happened to honesty?" He asked, his tone rising. "You had promised no more lies!"

I remained quiet as his anger flared. He was pissed, and rightfully so. His anger had always been like an icy storm. Slow to set in but piercing with intensity. Now though, his anger was burning, and his cheeks were flushed with it. "Why did you hide it from me in the first place?"

I chewed on the bottom of my lip, I didn't want to have this conversation now. "I don't know..." I said glancing away. "Could we have this conversation later?"

"I'm tired of you holding things back from me!" I could clearly hear the frustration in his tone. "The topic has come up and you have deliberately avoided it, and worse, you lied to me! You could have told me earlier, yet you lied about it!"

"I'm sorry I lied about it, but could we just drop it for now? I will tell you everything, just please can we wait till later?" My knees felt like they were about to buckle any minute. I looked up at him, my eyes silently pleading to him.

Danse shook his head, and turned away, breaking eye contact. "We'll let the matter drop for now." He said gruffly. "But I expect the truth in the morning-and I mean all of it."

I watched him for a moment, carefully walking down hill, avoiding loose rocks on the path. Letting out a sigh, I wrapped my arms around myself. I didn't know what was worse? His anger, his silence or the barrier of his rank that he hid behind. I couldn't blame him. After all, I had concealed, I deserved it.

Guilted ebbed my shoulders as I watched him walk ahead of me, while the silence gnawed at me. "Danse..."

He paused but didn't look back. His posture stiff. "What is it Knight?"

I flinched at the use of my title. "I'm sorry..."

He didn't say a word, and for a moment, I thought he would walk ahead as if I hadn't said anything. Until he turned his head slightly and looked at me through the corner of his eye, his shoulders relaxed slightly. "We'll discuss it further in the morning, Knight." Then he continued.

I pinched my eyes tight and took a deep breath.

We had reached the small old footbridge as I gazed out towards Sanctuary. It had been months since I was last here.