Forming Trust- An Ela X Reader Fanfiction

Speak The Loudest

"You really think I would go down that easily?"

I turned to see Jordan, clutching his side to control his bleeding, his trusty g-21 in the other hand, smoke rolling off the tip of the barrel. There was a bullet hole through Craig's head; he was slumped facedown, dead.

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"Even if you have regrets, even if you have remorse, you must fight. If you have made the decision for yourself to fight, to struggle, then fight with all you have. Do not give up for one second, one moment, or one instant. Cling greedily to the victory you have within your sight. If you can still stand, if your fingers still move, if all your teeth have not broken, stand and fight. You must fight!" – Wilhelm Van Astrea - Re:Zero

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I rushed over to Jordan, tears raining from my eyes. I had just lost a man I thought I could consider my friend; I was about to lose another.

"Whoa, whoa, you can calm down with the patching! Take it as slow as you need; I'm not gonna bleed out that fast."

"J-Jordan! B-but, he, he shot you! You... you were dead!"

Jordan gave a shrug, followed by a wince in pain for moving his abdomen.

"Craig had been acting oddly recently. I suspected something was up, so I made sure to keep my pistol close. When he shot me, I just played dead. I'm really sorry I had to make you go through all of his maniacal ranting; I needed him to look away."

I wanted to hug Jordan so bad; He had just saved my life, killing his friend in the process, but I knew how badly it would hurt him. Jordan seemed to realize that I was still worried, so he spoke.

"I'm not gonna die, I just; I'm gonna need to get carried outta here on a stretcher."

"Do you need me to carry you out right now?"

Jordan shook his head no viciously.

"No way in hell! You aren't leaving until you kill the filthy bastard hiding behind that steel door. Look, drag be against the wall over there and press the little button I'm about to hand you. Do that, and you'll be ready to face your biggest fear."

I gulped. He was right. I had felt horrible all day; what was it going to be like staring J.D in the eyes?

Doing as I was told, I dragged Jordan against the wall and laid my backpack under Jordan to prop him up. He carefully handed me the detonator, and I took a deep breath before pushing the button, the burning of thermite signalling I was about to endure the toughest fight of my life.

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I holstered my pistol, walking into the room. Something told me J.D wouldn't shoot me; he was definitely the kind who got off by making someone suffer.

Sitting behind a table, smoking a cigarette and wearing the hoodie I had seen him in before, was J.D. A pistol sat on his table, facing away from him.

He giggled when he saw me.

"Goodie! I was really worried I wouldn't be able to fight you, but something told me lil' Craig wasn't enough to stop the wrath of the Irish."

I pulled out my knife, staring down J.D. Surprisingly, confidence had built up inside of me. I had been so worried I would have been scared out of my wits and vomiting on the floor, but I stood firm with a bizarre, steely fortitude. I guess being in the moment; knowing very well this could be my last battle, allowed me to overcome my fear.

"Nothing was going to stop me from meeting up with you again and killing you."

J.D snuffed his cigarette on an astray that rested on the table, blowing a ring of smoke in my direction before laughing again.