Matt-038 (Halo Fanfiction)

Chapter 86: Growing Affection

Author's Note: If you have any tips writing tips, please feel free to comment.

Again, I gratefully accept constructive criticism as a means to help me develop my skills further as a writer.

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Chapter 86: Growing Affection

Location: Sol system, planet Earth, Vandenberg Base

October 5, 2552

1136 hours

Linda sat with Matt near the cliff meditating with him. Matt had certainly become a quick study over the past couple of days and secretly watching when he wasn't looking had given Linda something to do, besides clean and service her rifle.

The strange dreams with her and Matt hadn't been back since the last one, she decided to hold off on telling Baker about them, for now.

She started to enter a deep meditative state and for some reason, she entered REM sleep. It was the same setting under the tree and both she and Matt were there, minus any clothes. She looked into his brown eyes and whispered three words that made Linda realize exactly what was going on.

"I love you."

Linda bolted awake immediately and suddenly grabbed her head.

'I love him!' she thought to herself. That's what all the strange feelings were, the tightening in her chest, how she liked being alone with him all the time. She looked over at him, still in a meditative state and suddenly another feeling began to rise in her chest, fear.

She didn't know why, but she knew she had to get away from him so she quietly got up and ran for the trees and didn't stop until she reached Vandenberg. She made it to the bunk room and shut the door then leaned up against the wall.

'What the hell did I do that for?' she said to herself. Linda didn't know how to handle these new feelings, they scared her in a way.

Linda returned to her bunk and laid down on it, she knew Matt had by now noticed her absence and hopefully she would pretend to be sleeping and Matt wouldn't bother her.

She lay on the bed for twenty minutes before she heard the door open followed by Matt's heavy footfalls across the floor. He sat down on the bunk opposite hers for a few minutes then got up and walked over to Linda. She kept her eyes shut and tried her best to pretend she was still sleeping.

'Please don't wake me and ask me why I left,' she kept saying in her head.

Linda braced herself for when he would try and shake her awake but instead, she felt the blanket and the foot of the bed being draped over her. Thankfully Linda was facing away from Matt so he didn't catch her slight smile.

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Location: Vandenberg Base, Baker's office

October 8, 2552

1325 hours

Baker sat at her desk overlooking some paperwork when Linda barged into the room.

"Is something wrong?" Baker asked, "our appointment isn't until tomorrow."

"I needed to talk to you," Linda replied. "I need your help."

"Of course," Baker replied, "just tell me what happened."

'How do I do this?' Linda thought to herself. "Look I wanted to talk to you... because I think I love Matt."

Baker sat back in her chair, dumbfounded by what she just said. The Spartans were indeed a challenge in psychology.