DEVIATE X / / AN UNORDINARY FANFICTION

XXXIV.

"What's the problem now?"

Arlo cocked his head in my direction as his eyes narrowed into an irritated stare. He coughed once, prompting Elaine to hastily shift her glowing hands near his chest.

I curled my injured hand into a fist, feeling the slow trickle of crimson splatter onto the the table.

"You had one f*cking job," I said vexatiously.

"Excuse me?"

"I had him. All you needed was to keep your weak ass barrier up, and you couldn't even do that," I spat, disregarding the impudent tone that swallowed my voice. "In the end, you let that first guy get away too. So useless." I scoffed.

Before I could rag on him again, Arlo's hand slammed down against the surface of the table. The chair screeched back as he stood up, looming over me in a livid manner.

"You wanna talk useless?! Who was the one who left Seraphina alone in the first place?!" He bellowed. "Instead of trying to stab that guy to death, you should've pulled her out of danger! If you had focused, we could've captured them easily! You think my barrier was weak?! You couldn't even prevent a goddamned van from escaping!" Arlo leaned closer to me. "Evaluate yourself before throwing the blame onto me, you fool!"

I pushed myself up from the chair, connecting my fist to his face. Despite all of his injuries, my hit barely left a mark, not even earning a reaction from his pathetic face.

"Better watch your mouth....!" I threatened, squaring my stance.

Rage flared across Arlo's face before his hand seized the hem of my shirt.

"Guys, please stop!"

Elaine's high soprano rang across the room. Her lithe body was stiffened, slightly trembling in fear as we turned to look at her.

"I know you're upset those people escaped! But the threat is gone now, and Seraphina is safe!"

Despite her attempt to maintain a diplomatic tone, her eyes frantically darted between both our faces, observing as if we were going to explode on her at any moment.

"L-let's not waste any time on fighting each other, and figure out what's going on!" Elaine pleaded.

Resignation flickered across Arlo's face before his fist loosened from my shirt.

"That's the most sensible thing I've heard all night," He agreed before sitting back onto the chair, placing an exasperated hand on the base of his face.

After the brief fit of rage subsided, silence scurried back into the room, followed by a faint ringing sound upstairs.

I trudged up to my room as the sound began to grow stronger. On the side table was her damaged phone, ringing persistently against the night air that drifted through the broken window.

"Delta?" I mumbled softly under my breath. "Why would she be calling right now?"

I inhaled softly before answering.

"Hey." I greeted tenderly.

"Hey," she replied, an exhausted lilt tainting her voice.

"It's almost 3am. Did something happen?" I questioned before taking a seat on the bed, wincing slightly.

"No....I just couldn't sleep, you know?" Delta admitted lazily. "And plus, I promised I would call you later. Anyways, why are you up?"

What do I tell her? Videogames? I mean, the weekend is barely starting, so that's a sensible lie, right?