Fanfare

Stay

The rebels took to the news of the outside world with surprisingly good grace. Trenna had expected at least a few of them to immediately try to rush to the tunnel, but they all stayed seated, listening to Pierce attentively. Not for the first time, she wonders what he did to gain their respect. But he does have something about him, something that says that he can take control, that he is a leader. He was born for it.

She smiles to see him standing at the entrance to the compound, addressing all these people. She feels his lips on her skin and her hand comes up to her mouth as her smile widens. Jack elbows her in the side, and she tears her eyes from Pierce to look at him.

"What's up?" he whispers, and she drops her fingers from her lips.

"Nothing," she says, her face flaming. Anna catches her eye with a knowing look as she turns around to look at him again, but she doesn't care what she thinks. She doesn't care what anyone thinks.

"You're blushing," Jack says, leaning close, his hand covering hers on the seat between them.

"Just overheating," she says, feeling strangely guilty as she pulls her hand from beneath his and fans her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want me to leave the room?" he asks, and she can hear the grin in his voice.

She digs her elbow into his ribs and his laughter stirs her hair. She refocuses on Pierce as his eyes move over the gathered rebels, silent as they listen to him speak. He stops, and his eyes meet hers with the slight, imperceptible flicker of a smile which she returns, her fingers curling around the edge of the seat.

She can feel Jack beside her, can imagine the slightly confused, narrow eyed look he's giving her, and it only makes her feel more guilty. But she hardly feels it with the heat of Pierce's lips on hers still coursing through her, a drug that has yet to wear off.

One by one, he chooses the team that is to come with them and tells them to prepare to leave three days from today. Anna, Ben, Hugo, Jack and Calla are included, as well as she and Pierce and several other men and women who she doesn't know. Then he excuses everyone, seals the door to the east tunnels with a large padlock, and strides to his room on long legs. She watches him go, catching the glance he throws her over his shoulder. And then he is gone.

Her every nerve is on end as she forces herself to stay seated, to turn around in her seat and have some sort of normal conversation. "What did it look like?" Anna is the first to break the silence, but everyone leans forwards in their seats, eager to hear what she has to say.

She smiles a little dreamily, remembering the feeling of grass against her skin. "It's... amazing. There's grass as green as your eyes," she says to Anna, grinning as the other girl blushes slightly, "stretching for miles and miles, as far as I could see. And-" She pauses, worry creasing her brow, wondering what to tell them. Then she remembers that Pierce told everyone-everyone who didn't know- about the Outsiders minutes ago. She smiles, loving that she doesn't need to hide anything from her friends. She feels brief surprise at the fact that she thinks of them as friends before she brushes it away with a smile and a memory. "And there's a city. The Outsider's city. It catches the light like it's made of crystal. It's beautiful. But it's also sharp enough to cut." Everyone leans forwards, closer, elbows on tables and chins in palms as they listen, captivated by the passion in her words. People from tables over strain their ears to hear more, the outside world captured in a few soft sentences. "And the city Pierce was talking about. I saw flames, in the distance."

"They're trapping us like cattle in pens," Calla spits, her tone vicious. Jack shoots her a cautious look, and Ben puts his hand on his sister's arm.

"What was the grass like?" Anna asks, her head resting on her crossed arms on the table. Trenna looks at her, surprised; out of everyone, she least expected Anna to ask something like that.

But she smiles at the memory. "Endless. It went on and on, and was so bright." She pauses, pulling a strand from her pocket and passing it across the table. Anna takes it and twists it between her fingers reverently. "Think of hundreds of thousands of those, and more. Soft and cool on your skin, the sun on your face. And the air. Outside, it's different. Less charred and more... free. Clear."

Anna smiles, fierce with hope. And then she sits up straight, cocks an eyebrow at Trenna as she rests her chin in her palm, her shoulder-length shock of red hair falling across her eyes. "Anything else... happen out there?" she asks.

Trenna feels her face light up and looks away. Anna grins knowingly. Jack frowns and looks between the two of them. Ben looks away, a small smile on his face, while Calla glares at Trenna with furious concentration.

"What? What happened?" Jack asks, leaning forwards on the table.

Finally, Trenna can't take it anymore. Their stares and questions. And the longing to just be near him again. She stands abruptly. "I-I need to ask Pierce something."

"Sure you do." Anna winks as Trenna slips out from the bench seat and walks towards Pierce's room.

She glances back over her shoulder once, at her table, and sees Jack standing to come after her, some sort of realisation dawning on his face. "Trenna!" he calls. She only looks back long enough to see a few curious faces turn towards her and Anna as she rises, grabbing Jack's arm, restraining him as she says something she cannot catch.

Then she is opening Pierce's door and slamming it behind herself, going over to where he lies on the bed, startled, and curling up alongside him. She grabs his arm and pulls it around herself, holding his hand against her stomach. "Everything alright?" he asks, sounding amused.

"Everything's spectacular," she tells him, wriggling closer.

"You know, I'm pretty sure everyone saw you come in here." He pulls her closer, presses a soft, lingering kiss to her neck, just below her ear.

"Do you care?" she asks.

"Not really." He is warm and comforting. She doesn't need him. But she wants him. And so she allows herself the comfort. "Do you?"

"They can think whatever the hell they want."

"You know, this doesn't lend a positive light to my 'impartial leader' image."

She rolls onto her back, frowning. "You can still be impartial towards me. You don't have to treat me any different than you would treat anyone else."

Pierce laughs as he levers himself up on his side. "So you want me to do this to everyone?" he asks, leaning over her and kissing her gently, slowly, like he's memorising the taste of her.

"Maybe not everyone," she says, and he kisses her again. "Ok, that is restricted to me, although I'm sure Hugo would enjoy it."

His fingers gently graze her ribs and she laughs, squirming. "Still ticklish?" he asks, sitting up, interest lighting his eyes.

She rolls her eyes and pulls down her tank top. "No," she says, trying to sound convincing.

He grins and tickles her til she's gasping for breath, somehow sprawled on the ground while he lies on his bed, looking amusedly down at her. "You're evil," she pants, straightening her clothes.

He grins with eyes that are anything but cold, shifting back on his bed and holding up an inviting arm. She slips beneath it and rests her cheek against his shoulder, her lips against the hollow of his throat. "It's getting late," she says, finally, as the light dims slightly; Jack falling asleep.

"Stay here," Pierce says softly. She stays.