flawed

e l e v e n t h

District_115
year 02 post great shock
•••

Emma POV

Vince had been furious when Dani had informed him that her and I would be going separate ways.
Logan, on the other hand, had latched onto my waist, not letting me go until I told him he could come with us.

As childish as he might act at times, escaping his grip was next to impossible, even for me. He was stubborn like that.
And I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy he was coming.
In fact, if he hadn't come I might have cried.
Maybe.
Eh.

Dani, Logan, and I had only been traveling for for two days.
It had been incredibly difficult going, especially finding safe places to sleep at night, away from rogues and Crazies.

The further inland we traveled the more dangerous it seemed to get.
Bigger gangs, more rogues, and Crazies.
The Crazies were by far the most terrifying part of it all.

They were absolutely insane.
They would walk the streets, swinging machetes and every so often breaking into song or maniacal laughter.
Some of them even raved and ranted, crawling like animals on all fours.
I would have pitied them if I wasn't so scared of their empty eyes and wide grins.

Logan poked me in the side.
"Psssttt... Em."
I didn't open my eyes or move.
He poked me again, harder.
"Emmmaaaa I know you're not sleeping. Your nose just twitched and your eyelids are fluttering."

I rolled over, covering my ears and groaning.
"Leave me alone Logannn. It's time to go to sleep."
"But I can't sleep," he whined, and I knew he was doing that adorable pout of his. 
Stupid kid.

"Fineeeeee," I sighed, sitting up and turning to face him. "But keep your voice low we don't want to wake Dani. You know how she gets if she doesn't have at least eight hours of sleep."

Logan shivered, nodding quietly.

"Thumb war?" I questioned, holding out my hand and raising my eyebrows challengingly.
He grinned.
"You're on, sweetheart,"
"Ewwwwwww," I laughed, smacking the top of his head. He rolled his eyes, pulling my hair and locking his hand with mine.

"One, two, three, four I declare a thumb war," I chanted softly, moving my thumb opposite to his.
"Five, six, seven, eight try to keep your thumb straight," he added.
Than the battle was on.

My thumb wrestled with his as I stared challengingly into his eyes. He smirked back at me as his thumb pinned mine down and began to count to five.
I struggled to free the digit but failed utterly.

Logan cackled quietly. "I wonnnnn," he sung with a bright smile.
"Shut up," I grumbled, but smiled back. What could I say? His smile was insanely contagious.

Dani stirred a little and Logan and I looked at eachother, wide-eyed.
"I think we should get back to sleep." I whispered.
He nodded in agreement, laying down on the hard ground.

After a few minutes I sighed.
"I think we both know we are not getting to sleep any time soon. At least not on this ground."
A cold breeze had begun to blow through the streets, making goosebumps arise on my arms.

"Cuddle?" Logan suggested.
"No," I replied.
"Pweaseeee?" He widened his eyes.
"Ughhhhh," I protested. But it was impossible not to be affected by those big brown puppy eyes.
"Fine," I mumbled.

Logan's eyes lit up and I moved closer to him, letting him wrap his arms around me as I nestled into his chest, feeling his heart beat.

I couldn't deny I felt safer, almost instantly.
And warmer.