As one. Always. (A Loki fan fiction)

Chapter 1

“Bye guys!” She shouted, throwing on her jacket. The rain had somewhat subsided but she knew she’d be soaked by the time she reached home. A few random byes were called out as the door shut to the shack. Or that was what she called it. It was a one room square block where Lana, a member of their group, lived. Cheap to keep, and a good meeting place for everyone like them.

Like we’ll ever get new members. We can’t exactly advertise our little club. She thought.

As the rain pelted Noelle’s head she felt uneasiness settle in the pit of her stomach. All week, she’d received strange calls. Heavy breathing. All week Garrick had been acting strange. He stopped returning her calls, he didn’t meet with the others. She knew he’d been avoiding her; ever since the argument, he slowly faded out of her life. She knew the calls were probably from him. The caller ID showed his home number. Why was Garrick using his home phone?

Garrick was just mad. Anything he said to her, any threats were bluffs. He was all talk.

As the wind picked, her skin started to prick. She felt her stomach drop, and an anxiety crept in. Calm down. She thought. It’s just a little rain and wind.

In the dark.

Just keep walking. It’ll be okay. She reached a lit street, and breathed a little sigh of relief, though she still felt the anxiety in the pit of her stomach. Just a few more blocks and she’d be home. Her mother was probably waiting up. She had probably been waiting up for a while. Beth could never be sure when Noelle was staying over at Lana’s or Garrick’s or if she would be coming home. Noelle always changed her mind last minute, so Beth waited up until 11 at night. If Noelle wasn’t home by then, she was at Lana’s or she went home with Garrick.

When Noelle thought about it, it was shitty parenting. You couldn’t deny that. But Noelle was 23 and she was an adult. Her mom respected her privacy, and she knew Noelle could handle herself. Her father hadn’t given her all those combat lessons and signed her up with professionals for nothing. So Beth waited up and Noelle either showed up or didn’t.

Sometimes Noelle stayed over at Lana’s for a day or two. Sometimes she went home the next day. It was incredibly reckless, and irresponsible, but that was okay. Beth figured after having to be responsible since birth, Noelle needed a bit of recklessness. Again, when Noelle thought about it, shitty parenting and shitty reasoning. If people knew her mother’s parenting dynamic, they’d probably call children’s aid or something. Again, Noelle was 23 and didn’t need children’s aid. But still, some people were that nosy and worrisome. All in all, Beth was an understanding person and Noelle was smart and could defend herself. Her father had seen to that. And besides, the people Noelle hung out with were like her. Or claimed to be. They were safe.

It was a few minutes later when a group of people came walking up the street Noelle was on. She was 3 blocks from home. She couldn’t hear the group, which was odd since her hearing was very developed, and slightly beyond normal. They were intentionally being quiet. They weren’t acting rowdy, so they weren’t drunk. Her eyes were keen, even in the dark blue-black of the night. This could be trouble. A bunch of guys walking down an empty street, trying to be quiet.

Either they were trying to lay low from people in general or they were trying to catch someone off guard. If I was completely human they would have. This could be trouble. Big trouble.

Okay. She thought. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. She could cross the street and keep going towards home, or she could cross the street and go back to Lana’s and spend the night. It was quarter to 11, so she had time to do either. Either way, she was crossing the street.