The Turf War Twisted

Some Comfort in These Trying Times

Seeing Scar, it somehow made Grian smile more than he'd been able to for so long. It wasn't even one of the toothy smiles that people would usually think of, just a small one. He smiled with his mouth, his eyes... his heart. Even with how ridiculous Scar looked, laid out haphazardly on the couch with the blanket barely covering him as it hung off the couch.

"Scar? Scar!" Grian called, walking up and hesitantly shaking him in an attempt to wake Scar up. It felt so strange the whole time there. Hanging out with Scar while the war was still going on, it was something Grian never thought he'd do. Though, Grian never thought he'd get blown up, go to prison, or start growing mushrooms out of his head, so the whole season was one of firsts.

Rolling over, luckily in the opposite direction from falling off the couch, Scar groaned. "Five more minutes," he mumbled out, burying his face in the couch cushions. He pulled his legs in, curling up in a ball and tangling himself further into the blanket.

Grian rolled his eyes with a smile. "Five more minutes until what? Until I'm completely covered in mushrooms?"

Scar's eyes shot open quickly and his body stiffened, not moving. He groaned again, turning over to face Grian. "That wasn't just a bad dream?"

"Nope," Grian responded, looking up in the direction of his scalp. "Definitely real."

"Do you need painkillers?" Scar asked, sitting up slowly and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Grian scrunched up his face a little, starting to instinctively fiddle with his fingers. "I think the pain's manageable for now."

Scar squinted his eyes at Grian, sighing quietly. "Fine, if you don't need any, then we should get ready to go."

"Go where?" Grian questioned, tilting his head in confusion.

"Well, in case you've forgotten, I'm still the mayor. I have to head to Town Hall, and you're coming with me." Scar stood up from the couch, stretching and walking over to the ladder that led to the second floor.

Grian quickly followed behind him, the confused look on his face only growing. "Woah, woah, woah! Hold up! Aren't you the one that made it illegal for me, as a Resistance member, to be in the Shopping District? And you expect me to go to Town Hall with you?!" He shouted much louder than he intended, shadowing Scar as he went up to the bedroom.

Scar turned back to Grian with a warm smile on his face. He firmly put his hands on Grian's shoulders, making eye contact between the two. "I promised I'd take care of you, didn't I?"

Suddenly, Grian couldn't suppress an intense blush that overtook him. He so desperately wanted to run away and cover his face, but at the same time, he couldn't stop looking into Scar's eyes. "Do- Does that mean you're just gonna break the law you made?" Grian stuttered out, trying to hide how mesmerised he was.

Scar abruptly took his hands off Grian's shoulders, turning away with a shrug and a grin. In all reality, he couldn't keep looking at Grian any longer. The feeling Grian had was the same for Scar, but it was less obvious with his expression. All at once, Scar still felt so guilty for everything that happened with Grian, and felt so glad that he could spend time with him. "Hey, it's only illegal if we get caught." Scar turned his head back over his shoulder with a smirk. He winked at Grian, which only made Grian's heart beat more rapidly. "Am I right?"

Grian nodded slowly as Scar turned back away from him, opening his drawer of clothes again and rummaging through it. Grian turned the opposite direction of Scar, putting his hand to his heart and wondering how it was pulsing so quickly. He wondered what could possibly be wrong with him. Was the mushroom thing giving him heart problems? Was he nervous about Scar? Was he really that nervous about going to the Shopping District? Any scenario he played out in his head didn't make sense for why he would be sent into such a panic.

After a moment of Grian's overthinking, Scar's voice rang through the room, bringing him back to attention. "Are you okay?" Scar asked, gently putting a hand on Grian's shoulder.

Suddenly alarmed, Grian turned to face Scar. In an instant, without even thinking, he collapsed into Scar, wrapping him in a tight hug. Quiet sobs left him and he couldn't think, couldn't see, couldn't anything it seemed. The swift motion had taken Scar aback, but after realising at least a bit of what was happening, he wrapped his arms around Grian cautiously.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong?" Scar asked in a soft voice, trying his best to comfort him. A lot of times Scar would be one to offer solutions instead of comfort, a skill he'd picked up ever since becoming mayor.

"I- I don't know...?" Grian sniffled, stuttering his words out through his sobs. "I'm scared."

Scar squinted his eyes, lowering his eyebrows. He gently pushed Grian out of the hug, holding onto his shoulders to keep them level with each other. Grian looked up at Scar, his eyebrow slightly raised in confusion. "You? You, Grian. You're scared? I don't believe you."

"What do you mean?" Grian's sobs died down as he spoke. "Is this how you comfort all your friends? Because you kinda suck at it." He left his remark with a small chuckle, a bittersweet one.

Scar snickered, smiling as he made eye contact with Grian. He lifted up his left hand, carefully using it to wipe away a tear that rolled down Grian's face. "When did you get so unsure of yourself? What happened to the confident, crazy prankster Grian I knew? I get that we all changed during the war, but I was hoping you'd still stay so cheerful." His voice showed no malice, just sincerity and care. It only made Grian's heart pound more. "I mean, I have," Scar continued with his toothy smile. That part, that part had less sincerity. Though Grian couldn't tell, Scar knew he was lying to Grian, and to himself. Scar knew he couldn't keep his spirit during those months, but he thought it'd be best for Grian not to know. In fact, he thought it'd be better if no one ever knew.

"I just want it all to end," Grian confessed, looking down with a frown. "The mushroom stuff, I'm getting sick of it. The war and whatever happened to my head."

"I'm sick of it too. Though, I think you still look just as handsome with those mushrooms." Scar gave Grian a small pat on the head, smiling deviously.

"God, shut up." Grian pushed his hand away, using his sleeve to wipe his tear-filled face. "I'm fine now, let's just go to the Shopping District."

"Great!" Scar said, walking over to the ladder down. "Guess I really am good at comforting people," he added as he climbed down the ladder.

Grian followed after him, rolling his eyes with a quiet chuckle. "In your dreams."

[A/N: School ends in 20 days! Hopefully I'll be able to write more, but I do have a busy summer so please be patient with me >.< Just because I'm curious, feel free to comment on this chapter with any (respectful) questions you have about me or the story! I'll leave answers to this little Q&A on the next chapter. That's all ^-^ Hope you're enjoying "The Turf War Twisted"!]

(word count: 1168 words)