Don't let go: Joel Miller x OC

Night watch

The air became crisp as the darkness of the night sky settled in for its shift. Whilst it was the season of spring, the nights still brought a significant and bitter temperature drop to the town. Ava rummaged through her canvas backpack and pulled out a fleece lined winter coat that she quickly wrapped around herself.

"It's still pretty cold, huh?" Ava spoke as she toggled with the zip, dragging it up and over her chest.

All she got as a response was a slight nod. She had tried to encourage conversation a few times over the past couple of hours but to no avail. She was either responded to by either a nod or a one worded answer that shut the conversation down entirely. She had been warned of his rather reserved mannerisms but she was determined to crack him by the end of the shift.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" She asked.

Joel sighed, a not so silent wish to be left in peace. "Just not a fan of small talk, that's all"

Ava smirked "I think that's the longest sentence you've spoken all evening"

He scoffed and turned his head back out to the surroundings. Not much had happened so far. He wasn't sure what he was expecting since they were pretty distant from any other settlement.

The woman squinted her eyes at him, intent on getting some sort of conversation out of him. Everyone had a breaking point. "Tell me about yourself"

His response was short and stern "No"

Ava raised her eyebrows at him and then tilted her head against the wall. "Mystery man" she muttered to herself.

This was going to be a painful seven hours each Monday if he kept the silent act going. Maria had become a close friend of Ava's and the night shift became an enjoyable experience as they chatted and gossiped to pass time. This shift felt like it was going to last much longer.

The atmosphere between the two felt heavy, forced almost. As if the more determined she was to get to know him, the more hell bent he was on shutting down completely.

"Look, I'm just trying to pass the time. The next five hours are going to be very long if we sit here in total silence" She stated resting her arms on her knees. What was his problem?

Joel let out another sigh and looked toward the concrete beneath him. She was right, the awkward silence and her attempts at conversation was not a comfortable scenario for him. After all, this was going to be a weekly occurrence. Was he really planning on being stand offish with the poor girl each time?

"Is it always this quiet?" he asked, still avoiding any sort of eye contact with the woman beside him.

Finally, she thought as she forced back a victorious grin "Yeah, it's not particularly action packed I'm afraid"

He bobbed his eyebrows "I just assumed that with the amount of people stationed, there would be somethin' "

Ava nodded slightly "Can never be too careful I guess."

She pulled her back pack over to her feet and once again began rummaging through, this time pulling out a bag of crackers. She took one for herself and then offered the bag over to Joel to be polite. She expected him to decline and she was correct. She stuffed the bag back into her pack and swallowed the food in her mouth.

"Texas?" She questioned.

It caught Joel off guard and he raised an eyebrow at her, his head unintentionally snapping around to her. Those almond eyes all inquisitive with an almost smug smirk on those plump pink lips. He swallowed thickly as he dragged his focus away from her goddamn pretty mouth and back over to the tree line ahead. This was going to be torturous...