Rebellion (Sidemen AU) *UNDER EDITING*

Cara

I mentally cursed as I made yet another wrong turn. They should really label the rooms. A giant sign labeled "LAB" would be ideal.

Instead, I took what felt like hours to find the door I was looking for. I pulled it open and stepped inside, wishing in that moment that I'd had my gun. I was grateful when I didn't see anyone.

I made my way to the glass room I had been in when they did the tests. I glanced around, trying to remember where I'd spotted the crate. I walked further inside, realizing just how big the room really was. There was all kinds of technology sprawled across the floor and desk, but after a thorough search in the room, I came up empty.

"Thought you might come by here."

I whirled around, backing into a desk and wincing when I hit it. My breath hitched when I saw him.

I tried to think of something to say, but I couldn't. I could barely breathe.

"I can't let you leave," Josh started walking towards me, and I reached for the nearest object on the desk behind me.

As he reached to grab my arm, I reached my other arm up and swung at him.

He caught my wrist and pried the wrench out of my hand, pulling my arm behind my back and using his other arm to pull me to his chest. I struggled against him, but he wrapped his arm tighter around me.

He leaned down and whispered into my ear. "There's no point in resisting. I'm trying to help you."

"Yeah right," I scoffed, and stomped my foot on his.

He grunted, loosening his grip enough for me to elbow him in the gut and push away from him. I tried running to the door, but felt arms around my legs as I was tackled to the ground. I yelped in pain when he grabbed my injured leg.

We rolled around for a minute until he was on top of me. I tried to throw a punch at his face but he caught my fist once again, pinning my arms to the ground. I squirmed, trying to kick my legs at him but it was no use. He was much stronger than I was.

He smirked as he raised his brow. "We should do this more often."

"Get off of me," I hissed.

"I did some thinking," He stared into my eyes but didn't loosen his grip. "After what you said."

I tried to think back to our last conversation. I had a hard time remembering.

"For a while, I thought I could change. I thought I could do something good with my life. But I learned that that was bullshit."

"But you can change," I struggled again before looking back up at him. "Do you really think it's going to be like this forever? We're closer than ever to ending this war. The question is, what side do you want to be on when it's over?"

He furrowed his brow, a glint in his eye that I didn't recognize.

"It's too late," He muttered. "I messed up."

"It's not, Josh. Please. Let me go, and we can go back together."
A hopeful look crossed his face, but it was gone just as quickly. "I can't. They'll kill me."

He chuckled sadly. "It seems like no matter what I do, I'm dead."

I didn't know what to say. He did mess up. He lost my trust, and probably everyone else's. So why did I invite him back?

I guess I just felt bad.

I struggled in his grasp, fighting until I freed one of my wrists and punched his jaw. He winced, but put my wrist back down on the ground, leaning close and keeping his weight on me.

He held his face inches from mine, and I scanned it for any sign of regret. It was faint, but I found sadness in his expression.

"What are we still doing on the floor?" I snapped. "Aren't you supposed to take me to your leader or something?" Or away from this building? It was then I remembered the rebels were going to blow it to pieces.

"Oh," He blinked, then stood and pulled me onto my feet. I cried out when my injured leg bumped into his.

"Stop," I tried turning to the deep voice behind us, but Josh held me firm. He wrapped his arm around my chest like he had earlier and pulled out a pistol, aiming it at my head.

Holy shit. There was no way he was going to shoot me. He held the gun there, though, turning around and facing us towards the door.

"JJ?" I hoped I remembered his name right. He had his rifle aimed at us, and he slowly walked into the room.

"Let her go," He stepped closer but stopped when Josh moved the gun down to my neck. I squeezed my eyes shut.

What was JJ doing? I had gotten the sense that he didn't like me that much, or that he didn't really care what happened to me.

"Put the gun down, or I shoot," Josh pulled me closer to his chest. His voice wavered, but he held the gun in place.

JJ kept the gun raised for a minute, but glanced at me and set it down on the ground. He raised his hands in the air and took a step towards us.

"Don't move!" Josh took his gun from my neck and pointed it at JJ, who froze.

I looked him in the eyes, possibly for an answer. He obviously hadn't planned for this circumstance.

Josh started to pull me to the opposite end of the room, but I wasn't going to go down without a fight.

I freed my arm and elbowed him once again in the stomach, then in the jaw, prying the gun from his hands and aiming it at him.

If it were anyone else, I would have immediately pulled the trigger.

I limped my way back to JJ, cursing at the pain in my leg, but never taking my aim away from Josh.

He held his jaw in pain for a moment before looking up at me, almost a pleading look in his eyes. I knew how bad this would be for him, but it wasn't right.

"Last chance," I said. "Come with us."

I don't know why I offered it, but I did. JJ gave me a look that I ignored, scanning Josh's expression.

He looked away from my eyes and down at the ground, slightly shaking his head. I took it as an invitation to leave, so I grabbed JJ's hand and pulled him out of the room.

"We need to hurry," He glanced down the hallway then down at me. As he did, I realized just how big he was. He had broad shoulders and was a lot taller than me. Not as tall as Simon, but still tall.

I glanced down at my injured leg and he followed my gaze. He sucked in a breath before bending down, wrapping my arm around his shoulder and wrapping his own around my waist. I could barely stand in this position, but it relieved pressure on my leg.

"Shit," JJ turned to look behind us as we ran. We were so close.

"What? What is it?" But I heard footsteps behind us and knew.

He pulled out his walkie talkie, pressing down the button and speaking. "Can I get any help over here?"

A little bit of static, then an answer. "We've got company out here, JJ. I'd recommend going out the back."

He cursed and we stopped.

"Hey," He looked up from the walkie talkie as I said it. "I say we go for it."

He raised his eyebrows and smirked. It's the first time I'd ever seen him come close to smiling. Though I hardly ever saw him anyway.

He nodded, swinging his rifle behind him and pulling a pistol from a holster on his side. "Let's do this."

Whaat? I posted early? I also posted on my other fanfic today if you want to check it out. I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit more from Josh, and just the chapter in general. Don't worry, I will still post on Friday.