Silver ||Joel Miller||

dance with me

LAURA

Laura toyed with the steel bracelet locked around her left wrist. It had been put on her that afternoon, the metal moulded to fit her wrist before the ends were melted and melded together around her. The only thing that had been between her and the molten metal was a piece of leather that was removed once the metal cooled.

It felt like it was a cuff on her, but at the same time it didn't. She understood the purpose of it was to show ownership in Haven, that she was off limits because she belonged to someone else, but at the same time... having Joel's name on her permanently felt somewhat right.

That's all that was etched into the thin surface of the bracelet – Joel Miller. God, it was still strange to even know what his last name was. She'd only found out yesterday and now it was shackled to her. And, pitifully, all she could think about was how this was a new thing that Ellie would be able to use against her when they got out.

Even now, as she sat beside Joel in the dining hall, she could picture Ellie picking up her wrist to have a better look at the bracelet before she would move to look at Joel's. There would be a shit-eating grin on the kid's face and she wouldn't shut up about it for at least two hours.

Laura guessed she had that to look forward to.

The hall had been shuffled around, the tables moved to the walls to make a huge empty space in the middle. It was a Saturday, which apparently meant it was event night. The event chosen by the people of Haven had been a dance, and Laura could tell that Joel hated every second of it. They'd been sitting on the edge of the room for twenty minutes, but if Laura wanted any chance in hell of getting step one of her plan sorted, she would have to get them moving.

"Dance with me..." Laura said, standing up and holding her hand down towards him. For each meal of the day, their table had been crowded with people trying to be their friend. Sean had always been present like a buzzard, and it meant they hadn't been able to talk properly. If they wanted any chance of sorting out a plan, they would have to be alone.

And she knew exactly how to get that to happen.

"Laura..." and there he was, saying her name like a warning again. If only he knew that when he said it in that deep of a tenor that it only riled her up more.

"Come on," she said. When he didn't move she wrapped her hand around his braceleted wrist and pulled him upright. His band of steel read her name, or what was partially her name. While her band showed who owned her within Haven, his showed who he owned. Laura Miller. The way he'd said it the day before hadn't gone unnoticed, the way he rushed the words to make them mean less, but it hadn't stopped the shiver that ran through her body at hearing them. Joel and Laura Miller. God, she was fucking delusional to think it meant anything.

"Is everything okay?" Joel asked as they made it to where the others were slow dancing.

"Yeah, I just wanted to get a better look at your uh, coffee coloured eyes," she said. All day she had been thinking about how to communicate with him, how to tell him what she'd figured out. For instance, she'd found out that Joel was completely safe within the village...

"Coffee coloured?" He asked, his brow furrowed as she wrapped her hands around his neck and he placed his hands on her waist.

"Your eyes, yes." Laura emphasized. He was safe. He was okay. They began slow dancing like the others around them.

"Like your coffee coloured hair?" Joel asked, she shook her head and pulled strands forward.

"You don't think my hair is turning silver?" She asked, and his eyes narrowed at her.