salute [h.s]

i know that when i need it i can count on you

the five times that Piper was there for each member of 1D when they needed it (and the one time where they were all there for her)

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1.

When Liam had come to her, begging for her help with a training session for the new recruits, he'd sound desperate. "I need you, Piper," he'd pleaded, grasping one of her hands in two of his as he gave her those damn puppy dog eyes of his, big and brown and warm. She couldn't say no to that.

"Sure," she'd said instead with a shrug. "I'd be happy to help you out. It'll be fun."

Famous last words. Because all of these new recruits were little snot-heads and within about two minutes of being introduced, she wanted to shiv each and every one of them. There was already a strange dynamic that started when Liam had introduced her as Agent Stone because half the room was the same age as her (and lots of them were older). She could see the stares, hear the whispers, feel the contempt radiating off a group toward the back that was all huddled together.

They were like the popular clique in high school and she could tell by the way every other recruit was at least two steps away from them. When it came time for them to pair up and take a target together, they all matched themselves seamlessly and pushed through the other recruits still trying to get organized so they could claim the targets in the middle. Piper instantly hated them.

Liam must have seen the look on her face because as he was passing by, he hovered a bit. "Don't let them get to you," he said as if reading all the nasty thoughts running through her mind, most of them homicidal. "Just focus on the people who need help. That's where I really need you."

"You should be helping the ones who need it," she corrected, "because you're the best teacher of the two of us. Compared to you, I'm pretty useless."

Liam beamed like Piper had just given him the greatest compliment he'd ever heard. "You think I'm a good teacher?"

"Oh, shut up and stop fishing for compliments. Aren't you supposed to be training these idiots?"

Liam winked and then walked off, raising his voice so he could talk to all the recruits at once. They started with handguns, Piper's specialty, so she didn't feel quite so useless supervising stances and giving little bits of advice to those she thought needed it. Usually the advice was received with an appreciative nod or a timid smile. It made her feel a bit better about her ability to train and she became a bit more critical. By the time she'd walked half the room, everyone on her side had a proper stance and was on target with their shots.

In front of her were what she was now referring to as the Career Tributes, joking around and laughing as if this wasn't one of the most important times of their lives. Recruit training was taken very seriously by management in the different branches and a score in one module that isn't quite as good as someone else in the department could make someone lose out on a promotion. The fact that this bunch of idiots was fooling around and squandering that made Piper really, really angry.