Operation Phoenix

Chapter Thirteen

"Dammit." He cursed, pacing the floor of his bedroom. His hands continued to ball his hair into them, fists pulling at the locks as if it'd take away the adrenaline rushing through his body.

"Dammit!" He said louder, kicking the edge of his bed in frustration. He was nearly shaking, it felt like his veins were raging rivers—ready to burst any second.

As he passed his beautifully large windows, he caught his reflection in them. It had stopped him from walking, from moving, because the person he saw before him only made the anxiety inside his stomach twist uncomfortably. He was disheveled, his hair sticking out in nearly all directions. He should be happy, he should be smiling.

But he wasn't.

No, he didn't want the same thing to happen to her, the same thing that happened all those years ago—before he even became a Runner. He felt the whole world was shaking, and he was helpless against it falling apart. He grimaced at the tears that threatened to fall, and scrunched his nose in the disgust he felt when they became swollen. Since the four had gotten separated just a few days ago, he'd been such a baby.

Angrily, he sat on the edge of his bed, combing his hands through his hair as his elbows sat on his knees. His chest heaved with heavy breaths and furious, stifled yells of self-loathing. He had to do something, it wasn't fair. The world had been so cruel, had taken away so much, it couldn't take away the thing he cared about most.

He heard the door to his room swoop open, followed by a soft, "Jack?" And the light pad of small feet making their way across the carpet.

He'd smelt her before he felt her sit next to him on the bed, before he'd felt her thin arms slide across his torso. "It sounded like you were... upset." She whispered, her chin resting on his shoulder and facing his ear. Her breath grazed his cheeks, and he tensed at the contact.

Rapunzel pulled away when she felt this and stared at him... almost hurt.

Jack looked up from his hands and felt the anxiety replace itself with guilt. He sighed and lifted his head, staring just in front of him so he didn't have to look her in the eye. "Sorry," He said, "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"You can talk to me about it." She suggested, offering a small smile.

Jack flashed his eyes at her for a moment before he huffed and threw himself backwards, lying on his back. The ceiling was full of cracks, painted over but still visible. He'd found that it constantly made him uneasy when he was sleeping and had to look at them—like the roof was going to cave in, but right now he felt the strange need to count them. "I've never told anybody." He answered after a short pause.

Rapunzel scooted closer to him, pulling her legs onto the bed so she could look over him fully. "Can I be the first to know?" Immediately she bit her lip, looking away in embarrassment, "I-I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I won't pressure you to—"

"I want to." He answered firmly. "I want to."

Rapunzel had to hide her smile, because the moment was relatively serious. She didn't want to seem insensitive or rude, so she chewed the inside of her cheek and leaned over him a bit. Her fingers traced the contours of his collar bones, his pale skin against hers reminded her of snow. If he wasn't breathing, he'd look dead. "What is it then?"

Jack breathed heavily through his nostrils, opening one of his arms for her. Accepting the invitation, she slowly climbed into his embrace and hugged him close to her. Taking in his familiar scent and warmth, she rested her head on his bicep. For a minute the room was just filled with silence, save the annoying hum of the radiators that pumped electricity throughout their quarters (the huge solar panels on top of their base helped with that).