Colors

Twenty Four

A/N: Due to a complete miscalculation of the plot, I've realised that this is the last chapter. Next chapter will be the epilogue and we're done here. Wow okay I need to wait until then before I get all sappy.


We woke before dawn and I internally thanked the gods who I thought had abandoned us by now because miraculously not a single one of us ended up with a hangover. The perks of starting to drink at 6pm and ending at 9pm I guess? We're really exciting, I know.

I don't think anyone got too drunk last night anyway, but that wasn't my main focus as I got my shoulder bandaged again and packed my bag, ready to finally see what was on the other side of the red border.

Red was on the edge, meaning that the security was going to be pretty heavy. We wanted to plan a careful attack, starting to talk about it before we realised that there was no way of knowing the perfect plan without studying and agonising over it for days. We eventually decided we'd just have to go and make it up as we went along. It hadn't failed us yet at least.

We did plan to follow Ashley's lead because she was still red and that meant if we ran into trouble she would be the first to come across it and being red would be less suspicious. Plus she would be the least likely to freak out and say the wrong thing, as well as the added possibility to flirt her way out of it.

"You alright?" Alex clapped me on the back with his signature grin.

"Yeah, a little nervous. Are you afraid?" I asked him, knowing what his answer would be before the question even passed my lips.

"I'm Alexander Kirk, I don't feel fear." He puffed out his chest and I rolled my eyes at him, chuckling softly. He was right though, he never got scared or worried, he was my rock and he always managed to see the logical side of things.

"Okay, well can you calm my fears then?" I asked, not really sure what I was expecting him to do. Right as the words left my lips, Mitch and Kirstie walked in. Our heads instinctively snapped toward them, both of us waving in unison at the pair.

"You guys ready?" Kirstie was the first to ask with a fond smile and I nodded, pointing to our bags that were on the ground behind us.

"Great, Ash is just saying goodbye to Josh and then we'll be leaving." Mitch said, his tone slightly harsh and I was reminded of last night. I rolled my eyes and held Alex's hand, partially to rub it in but mostly for comfort as the boy pulled me into his arms.

I still couldn't stop staring at Mitch even though I was mad at him. He was still beautiful. His big eyes captured the sunlight and his skin radiated it, making him the brightest in the room and I was a moth drawn to his flame.

"Okay...." I took a deep breath to comprehend everything that was going on. From the moment Ash came downstairs to when we were safely across the border, I couldn't be distracted. I couldn't afford to be shot again. I stepped away from the other three and went to look for Troye as I realised he wasn't around. It didn't take long, but I found him hunched over the sink in the bathroom.

"You okay?" My voice was barely a whisper. I knew he wasn't.

"M'fine." He mumbled the lie and I moved to rub his back gently.

"We both know that's not true. What's up?"

"I'm worried. What if I mess up again?" His shaky hands gripped the sink so tightly that his knuckles turned white and I felt my heart lurch in sympathy.

"You won't. It was an accident. You need to believe in yourself and what we're doing."

"I got you shot."