Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️TEN: A JOUST WITH THE FAIR LADY⚠️

Somehow, you just wished you could make everything go away.

No more pain and hurt, no more crying, no more death and blood. No more worrying and wondering, no more being scared every second of your life.

You just wanted everything to be gone.

Leaving wouldn't help anymore, because now you had friends here: Zion and Harry, and you couldn't leave them after how much they helped you. But at the same time, Jason and his dad were out there somewhere, out there in the cold world. Maybe they thought you were dead.

Or maybe they were dead.

You thought about what Eugene said, how they were probably killed by the zombies in the supermarket. Even Lawrence had said there was no telling whether they survived or not.

But not knowing was still better than knowing. Because even if they were dead, you could still hang onto the hope they were alive and well somewhere, maybe even somewhere safe.

Hope was the only thing you had anymore.

There was a knock on the door and you jolted up, realizing you'd been asleep. Nervously you walked over, opening the door a crack, trying not to think of the events of last night.

"Morning (Y/n). Take this," came Zion's voice, shoving a chocolate croissant through the gap in the door and hitting your chest.

"What's this?" you asked, opening it and taking a bite, feeling comforted by the sweet pastry.

"You slept through breakfast. Lawrence is getting the group together and ready for our trip to the storage supply. He wanted to know of you're still down," he replied, bending over and putting his eye to the crack in the door, startling you.

"Of course I am," you said as bravely as possible. "This is my first chance to get outside."

Zion's eye disappeared and you thought he left until he spoke up again. "And one more thing," he added, pushing his foot in the doorway to open it more so you could see him. "Lawrence had a speech for that girl last night. Eugene said you knew her from before everything happened." He faltered as if he didn't know where he was going with the topic.

You felt the emotions start to flood back and you filled your mouth with chocolate croissant to block it out. "Thank you, Zion," you said, trying your best to give him a smile.

He nodded, going back to his usual self. "Don't take your time on that, by the way," he said, pushing the bread further into your mouth mid-bite, "Lawrence is already in the storage room getting things together. You got ten minutes, tops."

"Okay, just don't choke me," you joked, kicking his foot from in the doorway. "And give me some privacy while you're at it."

"Ten minutes," he repeated with a grin, before shutting the door.

You sighed, your smile fading. You wanted to be fine, to go searching and not be a scaredy-cat, but you weren't sure if you could.

"C'mon, (Y/n)," you said, pepping yourself up. You finished your breakfast and snagged your backpack, stretching your limbs before heading out of the classroom.

You wandered around, trying to find the storage room. Where had Zion taken you yesterday before the tour? You couldn't remember, and class 1-C, the meeting class, was empty.

Not wanting to bother any of the guys, you trotted down the steps to the first floor, looking around. You had a bad feeling suddenly, chills going down your spine like someone was looking at you. You decided to go back, turning around.

Your heart caught in your throat and you stumbled back in surprise, covering your mouth to stop your startled scream. Harry stood there, looking equally startled.

"(Y/n), I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized quickly. "I saw you come down and I was wondering where you were going."

"Don't creep up on me like that!" you scolded, still shaking slightly.

"C-creeping... I wasn't-" Harry protested, beginning to look flustered.

"It's fine," you assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder as you walked past. "I was looking for the storage room. I forgot where it was."

"Oh! Well then I'll take you!" he said eagerly, starting to lead the way. You followed after him, glancing behind you and swearing you saw something in the shadows, watching you.

You two made it to the storage room and Zion looked up, a grin reappearing on his face. "I thought I said ten minutes," he teased, and you waved him off with a smile. Harry hung by the door.

Lawrence lifted his head out of a box, looking surprised when you saw you. "Oh good, you're here." he said kindly. "We were just getting ready to leave."

You nodded and noticed both Lawrence and Zion had weapons. "Do you have any weapons for me?" you asked, looking around.

Lawrence looked about to say something but Zion interrupted. "You have your weapon already," he said, "just show up late to the supply storage. You'll bore the zombies to death."

"We get it already, Zion!" you cried, going over to him with your hand raised. He saw right through your empty threat and laughed.

You saw a slender metal pole behind him and pushed past, grabbing it silently. It reminded you of the shower pole Jason's dad had taken as a weapon the day you were all separated.

"I'll use this," you said, swinging it experimentally.

"Good choice," Zion said, brandishing his own weapon. "How about a joust, my lady?"

"No!" You cried, covering yourself and giggling as he began to poke at you with the weapon.

"Alright, Zion," Lawrence said with a smile. "What gentlemen tries to joust with a lady?"

"A gentlemen who's not sexist," he declared proudly, making you burst into laughter. Lawrence shook his head, leading the way out of the supply room.

"We all ready?" he asked. You and Zion both nodded.

Harry was now standing at the top of the steps to the first floor, smiling. "Be careful," he said to you as you walked by, giving a thumbs up.

"Don't sweat it. She'll bore the zombies to death," Zion said again, knowing it would get a reaction. You poked him in the side, making him stumble over a step, almost toppling over until Lawrence held his arm out to stop him.

"I'll just tickle them," you said with an innocent smile. Zion just scoffed, looking embarrassed that Lawrence had to help him.

You felt refreshed as you stepped outside into the yard, the sky overcast and a crisp breeze blowing leaves and debris across the ground. Lawrence opened the gates and you couldn't help but notice the dark bloodstain in the concrete where Madelyn had been. Her body was gone, but the stain was reminder enough of what had happened.

"Feeling okay?" Lawrence asked, and you realized you had stopped to look at the red stains.

You nodded, taking a deep breath and clenching your hands around the metal pole.

"Let's go."