New World [Gay Chandler Riggs/1D fusion fanfic]

Chapter 11

Dad gently ran his fingers across Chandler's shoulder before saying "Well good news, I don't think it's broken Chandler. I think you just injured your rotator cuff; the actual joint inside the shoulder, the delayed pain response is highly unusual in broken bones. You should be able to move your arm again in a few days to a couple weeks once your joint heals" Dad said as he helped Chandler back into his shirt. "I have a sling in one of bags, it will help keep your shoulder still so it can heal faster".

As Chandler and Dad walked away Pops turned to me "Ok Cole we need rules". "What?" I asked "Pops you said...in the truck..." "I know what I said, and if I recall we made a deal, so here are the rules: You and Chandler will not be allowed to sleep on the same bed, under no circumstances. I fully expect you and Chandler to stay within sight of your father or I at all times".

I stared at my father, completely blown away by these rules, I was eighteen! "You know Pops, I have a couple of leashes for the girls; should I put one on as well?" I asked sarcastically. "That'll only be if you brake the rules" Pops said with an equally sarcastic smile. I turned to Liam and Zayn for support but they've long since learned to stay out of Tomlinson family struggles. "Fine" I said shortly before stomping out of the room.

We stayed at the station for three days; my parents extremely hesitant to go anywhere, Chandler told us about a run-in he had with some strange people and their base at the airport but they immediately shot down the idea, pointing out that the airport was literally on the other side of Los Angeles from where we currently were. They didn't have any other plans though so we waited and twiddled our thumbs while Pops and Zayn bickered over which direction to go.

Pops kept his promise,Chandler and I slept on opposite sides of the room when we did sleep together but we only slept in the same room the first night; after that he slept in the chief's office after Dad, very kindly, kicked him out since his nightmares wouldn't let any of us sleep. At the warehouse it didn't bother any of us since Chandler went to sleep after everyone else did but the pain meds Dad had him on made him drowsy.

One thing I have noticed though since he came back was that he hung around me more; I say hang around and not hang with, since while he was usually in the same room as I was now, he wouldn't talk to me anymore than he did before. The two of us would have long periods of silence; but strangely, it wasn't awkward.

Other than that, Chandler didn't act any differently than he did at the warehouse, which was slightly disappointing if I was being honest; I didn't expect him to, like, kiss me or anything, but it would have been nice if he gave me any clues into what he was feeling, one way or the other.

I was starting to doubt if he liked me at all, or just saw me as a friend; it would have been easier to figure out what a brick wall what it was feeling. I still haven't seen a genuine Chandler smile, much less a laugh, which was heart breaking; he just gave little smirks or crooked smiles that quickly faded.

Chandler, even with an injured shoulder, would still vanish from time to time; using chairs to crawl in and out the small window in the chief's office. That was one aspect of him that I completely didn't understand, sometimes he would come back smelling faintly of cigarettes but not always; yesterday I tried to ask casually where he always went but he just shrugged and I didn't push the issue.

-

I went downstairs with a couple of tennis balls; it was the only place large enough to play with the girls; they were both going stir crazy confined to such a small space. As I went down stairs I saw that the armory doors were open; I saw Chandler inside holding, with his good hand, what looked to be a vest of some kind.

"Knock, knock" I said, poking my head inside "Hey" Chandler said after glancing at me. "How did you get inside?" I asked, nearly falling over as the girls shoved passed me to investigate the room, they seemed more interested in what Chandler was holding though.

"I found a key in one of the drawers in the office" he explained "Hey, do you know what this is? I think it's a bulletproof vest but it's way too small and has like six holes" he said, holding it out to me. I took it and chuckled after a second "It's not made for humans, look" I said, pulling apart the velcro and squatting down in front of Shylo.

Shylo rolled on her back and started walking backwards, trying to get the unfamiliar vest off. "Interesting, I wonder how they would protect against walkers..." Chandler said as Shylo tried to take off the vest with her teeth "I'm guessing these are also for dogs too?" holding a little piece in fabric in his hand, smaller than his palm. I nodded and took it from his hand "They were in the Superstore too, they protect their paws from glass and such, they also sold some to protect against their paws from frostbite".

Chandler nodded and looked around the room, at the racks and shelves, it was empty except for the dog equipment "To be honest I was hoping for guns though, or even ammo". "Let's go check the evidence room, maybe there are...like...murder weapons there?" I offered.

The evidence room was filled with objects in labeled plastic bags; objects ranging from forks to shoes to laptops to jewelry. What caught my eye though was a long leather tube or something at the end of the room, walking over to it was actually the scabbard of a sword "Intended murder weapon, case number 14a" the sticker on the scabbard read.

"Now that's badass" Chandler said as I drew the blade. the sword was nearly as tall as I was; the handle, or hilt, was about a foot long and the blade itself was about four feet long, it was very light though. "I'm going to keep it" I said, Chandler nodded "Silence is the best weapon against walkers "Maybe you should start out with something...more...practical and...less...dangerous...like this" Chandler said taking a knife out of another plastic bag.

We didn't find anything else inside the evidence room other than handguns with no bullets and empty bullet casings; Chandler still tried to convince me to choose another weapon which was actually adorable, since he was actually concerned that I would hurt myself.

-

Chandler and I sat on his bed, or sleeping bag rather, reading some books I brought from the Superstore; well I read a book while Chandler just stared off into space, lost in thought. Chandler sat with his back against the wall while I laid on my stomach. It was a typical scene for us, together but not really interacting.

Because he was sitting cross legged, his knee was right next to my head; a sudden thought popped into my head, what if I placed my head on his knee? I needed some way to figure out if the feelings I had were mutual or if Chandler only saw me as a friend; pretending to roll onto my side I placed my head on his knee and waited for a reaction, but nothing happened. Chandler only glanced down at me before going back to...whatever he was thinking about.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, turning on my back to look at him but keeping my head on his knee. "Nothing" he said, looking down on me "Is that a good book?" I sighed "It was the first three times I read it". Chandler placed a casual hand on my chest and my heart stopped "I'll keep my eyes out for a bookstore next time I go out" he said with one of his crooked almost-smiles.

I placed my hand on my chest next to his, not touching but close; seeing how he would react, when he didn't do anything I asked "Where do you go when you disappear?" "Just...around" he said, looking away; I inched my hand forward so it finally touched and I sighed quietly to myself as he pulled his hand away.

"Cole! Your dogs are chewing on the desks again!" I heard Liam call from upstairs. I looked around the room, I didn't even notice the girls left "Be right back" I said to Chandler, getting up from the sleeping bag.

Going back downstairs with the girls, the office was empty; Chandler must have slipped out again, was it really so bad here that he needed to get out? I turned to go back upstairs before looking at the little window, where did he always go? Grabbing my new found sword from behind the filing cabinet in the office I strapped it to my back and climbed on the chair to follow him out.