-TASK FORCE 141- *ghost x y/n*

-training-

Price left me with Ghost, instructing him to tutor me on some of the devices they used that I had never came in contact with.

He hasn't said a word this whole half hour, I thought. God, I hope he's not an asshole about this.

He looks me up and down as he approaches me, holding a screen in his hands. "Dice."

"Yes, sir?"

"This is a heartbeat sensor. Even seen one?"

"Yes, but I have no experience with them."

"God, you are quite the dumb bloke." He mutters, turning the device on as I feel my cheeks turn red.

"It senses heartbeats, as suggested by the name. Tells you where your enemies are pretty accurately."

He instructed me on the buttons and how to judge the distances based on how zoomed in we were in. His sentences were slow, but sharp and short. He got to the point quickly.

"Check the inside of the building." Ghost commanded, and I obeyed immediately. I saw three heartbeats grouped together- Price, Soap, and Gaz.

"There," I pointed, and Ghost nodded.

"Look at you, reading the monitor like a big girl." Ghost stared me in the eyes. "I bet they'll make you a colonel in the next two weeks for that."

I stared at him, not changing my expression. What the hell is his issue? I was just trying to be friendly enough towards him. Soap, Gaz, and Price all seemed to accept me at a fine pace. What joy does he get out of being a sarcastic twat?

Whatever. I comforted myself, turning off the monitor and handing it to Ghost. Whatever it was that was pissing him off about me, I don't care.

He went over some more equipment with me, from large bombs to the custom cameras they had. I stopped worrying about what Ghost was saying and became distracted by all the beautiful equipment he was showcasing to me. It excited me to see the delicate details, all the small things that most people wouldn't notice but where extremely practical and helpful.

After three hours, we headed back inside, splitting off in the mess hall, where the rest of 141 was. Gaz and Price were watching a pot of mac n cheese boil carefully, taking turns to stop looking at the macaroni.

"What's with..." I gestured to them as I sat next to Soap. "All that?"

"Last time they made mac n cheese, it boiled over and was a mess to clean up."

"Last time YOU made mac n cheese," Price corrected.

"How'd the training with Ghost go?" Soap asked, drumming his fingers on the table.

"Fine."

"Was he an asshole?"

"Soap..."

"What, Gaz? I'm just asking a question."

"Only mildly." I responded, laughing at the family relationship this team had. Price was like a cautious father... Gaz was the responsible brother... Soap was the annoying younger brother... And Ghost was.... I dunno, an emo cousin?

After a minute, Gaz slid a bowl of the macaroni to me and laughed. "Sorry if it's not that good. We were out of milk, so..." He gestured to an almost empty cup of water on the counter.

"Oh lord." I clapped my hands together as you would if you were about to pray. "Please don't let my tastebuds die before I do."

"Amen," Soap sifted through the macaroni with his spoon. "Hey, it's better than most of the food we get anyways.

We ate while I listened to them exchanging jokes, stories, tidbits of their day. It wasn't until Gaz was telling a story about how his mother grounded him after a friend snuck a bottle of alcohol in his room that the conversation circled back to me.

"So, what're your parents like, lady?" Soap asked.

I swallowed the mac n cheese that was in my mouth. "Eh.. okay, I guess. Never really knew my dad, and my mom was... A bitch, to put it bluntly. But I had water to drink and food to eat, I'm not complaining."

Price nodded as the others processed what I said in silence. It wasn't until about ten seconds later when I looked up and realized Ghost had entered the room, silently.

Shit. Did he hear what I said?

"Mac n cheese, Ghost?" Price offered. "Made with fake powdered cheese., water, and lots of love."

"More water than love." Gaz snickered.

Ghost kept his eyes on me as he shook his head.

Quit your fuckin' staring problem. I said in my head, wishing he could hear me.

"What happened to that other guy you were all with?" I asked, taking a bite.