I Choose You

Chapter Forty Eight - Position and Planning

[Goals for the rest of the book: VOTES - 100]

"At least someone can follow directions," Greg said as I knocked softly on his office door. "Come in, Alex." I walked in and turned, shutting the door behind me.

"Hello, Sir." I said firmly, pulling a chair our from against the table. I sat down.

"I'm guessing you're looking for your position?" I cleared my throat and straightned my back. Posture is important according to Greg. I've learned just to listen to him.

"Yessir, I am."

"You 'am' what?"

"I am looking for my position, Sir."

"Much better," he said and leaned back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other. He brought his fingers up to his face and gently nibbled at the nail on his middle finger before dropping it to his lap and sitting up, leaning his forearms on the cluttered desk. "Well, since I actually like you and you know what to do and when to do so, I'll let you pick your partner . . . with my approval, of course."

"Can I, maybe, have Jake, please?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck, all while trying to keep my eyes locked on Greg's and my posture accurate.

"Ahhh," he said, exhaling. He swallowed, "Your little boyfriend. That's right, I hear things." I raised my eyebrows as he smirked along, as if him knowing my life was the key to success. Typical Greg.

"Yes, he is. So, can we work together?" Greg stared at the wall bhind me for a minute, seeming to be in deep thought.

"Yes," he said, crossing things off on a paper in front of him. "I'll ask Jakewher he would rather work. I like him too; he knos what listen means."

"Thank you," I said, lifting myself from my seat, not taking my eyes off of Greg.

"Pleasure." He stood up and stretched his hand out towards me, and I met mine with his, firmly grasping his hand and shaking gently yet confidently before turning on my heels to leave the room.

I eased the door shut behind me and skipped down the hall, looking at every last one of the pictures along the way. There was a unch of lines of color: red and green mixed between a purple, red across the top and blue directly below it. Yellow and blue intersected to make a lighter shade of green, dark and light brown meeting paths as well. It had to be the brightest picture in the hall.

The next one was black and white, a scetch of what looked like a boat half-sunken into the sea, other boats around it, warning sirens seeming to flash through the night sky (there was a moon above the sinking boat).

The next picture was a few feet down, but the largest of all of the paintings. There were men and women, obviously serving in the army, hiding behind bushes and climbing up trees as another line of people came marching through, their guns drawn.

The next was my favorite, therefore making the rest irrelevant. There was a big tree, leaves bright green aginst the blue sky. Apples sat on the green grass beneath it, along with more handing from the tree. In the trunk, there was a hole. Inside the hole was two people - the gender was not obvious - and they were kissing: arms wraped around each other in an embrac, their lips just barely meeting. On either side of the tree, the same two people were sitting on the grass. One was reading a book with a phone in hand, the other staring at their phone, as if they were waiting for something. I thought of it as an LDR. Two people in love, sitting at opporites sides, waiting for when they can meet in the middle and do what needs to be done. For the meantime, though, they sat away from each other doing what they do and waiting for a message back from each other.

I walked back into the kitchen, watching as everyone worked to oick up dishes and place them in the sink, ready to wash-up. I lifted an empty plate off of the table and walked towards the sink, automatically joining the cleaning process as if I came out of the womb doing it. That's how it worked around here: you knew what to do when certain things were said or done, and if you were late, you'd jump in quicker than humanly possibl. It was basically boot camp, and damn were we trained.

"Jake, whenever you're ready," I said as his head sprung up from the plate and sponge in his hand. He nodded and spoke to the lady next time him then dried his hands walked away, grabbiung my hand along the way. "You and I." I whispered, hinting him that we were partners. I wasn't sure if anyone else was supposed to know or not. He nodded, then poushed through the swimming door and keft, letting it swing closed behind him. I stared at the swinging door, slowing fown with each go.

"You there, Alex?" someone asked. Without turning, I nodded and grabbed another plate. They didn't need to see the blush on my cheeks. I put it in the sink.

A knock the sidedown had everyone's head turned away from their work. That dorr was not supposed to be used. It never was, never will be. Until now. It was basically an emergency exit, and if used, th consequeneces were most likely less than fun. Everyone looked at each other, and another knock, this one louder pounded the door.

"It's probably a test," I muttered, thinking that maybe Greg sent Jake or someone else to knock and see if we'd know the rule and stand by it or not. Small, muttered "yea" filled the room, everyone going to back to their work. There was a pound at that door and footsteps leaving, relaxing my fightened nerves. "See?" I added, "It's okay. All of it is fine."

Or so I thought.

[A/N: So, so, so, so sorry for thr lack up updates, seriously. I'm awful. You have permission to be mad. Everything has been crazy bsy. I'm trying my best.

I don't get home nowadays until at least four-thirty Eastern, if I'm lucky, so it's super hard to update. I love you tho. And thank you for 1.6k omg -->Feedback?<--

++What do you think will happen next?++]