Save One ~James Conrad

Up the River

Loki did her best to stay clear of James the rest of the night. She had succeeded to her glee but as the next day rolled around, she knew she was going to be stuck on a boat with him for hours. His words from the night before made her nervous, she wasn't sure why, but something just seemed off to her. Feelings were never something Loki had mastered; she could tell you all 400 species of sharks but ask her to explain why she was crying and she would simply cry harder.

That morning, Loki stood as far as she could from James in the ship ruins without seeming suspicious, her pack on her shoulders and the camera around her neck. She had a button up on, no tank top but a bra underneath it, tucked into tan cargo pants that hugged her back side and legs, a brown belt holding them up. The brown combat boots on her feet matched the belt and her pants were tucked into them. She tied half her blonde hair up in a knot on the back of her head.

Her eyes were on Hank as he crouched over what she assumed was a memorial for his fallen friend. She was proven right when he looked at them. "This man's name was Gunpei Ikari... if you take away the uniforms.. And the war. Then he became my brother." His eyes were fixed down as he spoke proudly of his friend. "And we swore we'd never leave each other behind," He said, his voice cracking slightly. He stood up, looking at the two and Loki looked at him with soft eyes. "Let's get off this island," he said, his voice filled with determination as he stared at them. He gripped the sword in the pile and ripped it upward, before sheathing it.

"Is the boat ready?" Loki asked Hank, tilting her head slightly.

"Slivko is working on it as we speak," James said with a nod. Loki didn't look at him but nodded her head. "We better go offer him a hand," He said, nodding to Hank.

Hank agreed and walked towards the opening and Loki quickly moved to follow but she felt a large hand take up most of her forearm. Hank looked over his shoulder at the two, seeing James holding her, looking at the ground with pursed lips as she looked at towards him with pleading eyes. Neither moved, not looking at eachother and Hank raised a brow. "You two coming?"

"Could you give a moment?" James asked, not bringing up his gazed.

Hank furrowed his brows but ignored Loki's pleading look, shrugging and taking a step back. "Don't be too long," Hank ordered.

Loki glared as he turned and began walking away. As if ordered, all the local villagers began exiting to room, removing themselves from opening in the ships walls, leaving the two by themselves. "Loki," James whispered, her name flowing from his lips like velvet. When she didn't turn to look at him, he made her, yanking slightly, but being careful not to hurt her. Her eyes bore into his chest and he looked at the top of her head. He was almost 8 inches taller than her. "Look at me."

"I am," she said, moving to take a step back but he held her firmly in place, inches from him.

"My face," He clarified. Loki licked her teeth, blinking firmly before his free hand slid under her chin and he forced her head up, bringing her eyes to him. For a moment, he dove in, drowning himself into her ocean eyes and he bit the inside of his cheek to return to reality. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Loki said, furrowing her brows.

James kept his hand on her. "You slept outside, made sure there was at least six feet between us all morning, and this is the first time you looked at me today... and it's because I forced you to. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

James raised a brow, dropping his hand from her chin. "You aren't moving until you tell me."

"It's bullshit," Loki said, biting her lip.

James's jaw tightened as he looked at her. "Don't do that," he whispered through clenched teeth. Loki furrowed her brows, releasing her lip and watched as he relaxed his face. "Don't bite your lip," he said quietly, looking up for a moment before looking down at her face again. "What's bullshit?"