𝓹𝓱𝓸𝓽𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱「𝐠. 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫」

viii

"we didn't talk about anything heavy or light. we were just there together. and that was enough" -the perks of being a wallflower

・・・

Everyone agreed with my proposal, so we went our separate ways. I took a detour to my house to grab my laptop. When I was walking back, I passed the high school field. I saw the small shapes of Grizz and his friends playing football on the far side of the field. They were run around, tackling invisible players, and yelling.

I shook my head. "What the hell?" I laughed to myself.

I figured I could use someone's help with the census and Grizz seemed like a trustworthy option. I don't know why, though. In just over a week, he'd gone from a sworn enemy to a friend I could trust with confidential information.

I stopped, hidden in shadow by the bleachers, so I could watch without interrupting them. Jason was giving the boys some sort of pep talk, something about a championship football game. They all gathered in a little huddle. They raised their right hands. Grizz muttered something to them before speaking louder.

"Centurions on me! Centurions on three! One, two, three!" he shouted.

"Centurions!" they all yelled together.

I stepped into the sunlight, making my way towards them.

"Hey boys," I said. "What are you all up to?"

"Just playing the best sport known to mankind," said Luke, walking over and slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"Gross, get off of me. You're all sweaty," I complained, ducking under his arm.

"Loosen up a bit, sweetheart," he said.

"What do you want, anyway?" asked Jason.

"I need to borrow Grizz for the afternoon, if that's alright with you boys," I said.

"Yeah, with what?" asked Grizz.

"Personal project, I'll explain on the way," I said.

Clark nudged him in the side. "Go get her, man."

"Fuck off, Clark," I said. "That's not what I'm here for."

"Um, we were going to head over to the church, Helena's speaking there. You're welcome to come with, and then I can come with you afterward," suggested Grizz.

"I totally forgot about that," I said. "Let's go."

I linked my arms through Clark's and Jason's and we walked to the church.

・・・

We entered the church right as Cassandra was leaving. She smiled at me briefly before brushing past. I wanted to ask her if she was okay, but we were already late.

When we entered the sanctuary, we stood in the back, trying not to make any disturbances. Helena smiled when she saw Luke.

"Because... getting drunk and, I don't know, breaking things, it might make us feel good in the moment, but in the long run? It's making us feel worse," Helena said, not breaking eye contact with Luke.

"I'd ask all of you to take a moment, and think about what would make you feel better about yourself in the future. I don't know how long we'll be here, but for now, we have to do what we can to abstain from the things that make us feel bad," continued Helena. "No, if you would, please bow your heads and pray."

She led us through a prayer, and thanked everyone for coming.

"Hey babe, sorry we got here late," said Luke, wrapping an arm around Helena's waist and kissing her cheek.

"No worries," she said. "You made it, and that's all that matters."

"We should go, a lot of work to do," I whispered to Grizz.

When we got outside, Grizz stopped. "What do you even need help with?" he asked.

"I decided we needed to keep inventory of all of the supplies, so we split up to keep track of everything. I'm dealing with the hygienic things, and I thought I could use some help," I explained. I decided to leave out the fact that it was Cassandra's idea. I respected the idea that she wanted to be left out of the credits.

"Sounds really boring," said Grizz.

"I know, but someone has to do it."

"I'll do it on one condition," said Grizz, stepping closer to me.

"What?"

He got close enough for me to feel his breath on my ear. "You play Fugitive with me tonight."

"Deal," I said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, I need a distraction," I said. "Besides, it sounds like it could be fun."

"Awesome, where are we starting?" asked Grizz. "There's a lot of places to cover."

"I'm thinking of starting at that big pharmacy on Park Street," I said.

"Start with the biggest and go from there. I like it," said Grizz. "Come on, we don't have all day."

・・・

We spent the rest of the afternoon counting up everything from toothbrushes to bandages, keeping track of them on a spreadsheet on my computer.

"Why do I have to count up the tampons?" whined Grizz.

"Someone has to, and I'm busy with the razors," I said.

"But-"

"I don't give a fuck, Grizz. Women have periods, I'm sorry if that's a new concept for you," I said. "I pity your future wife."

"That may very well be you," he said.

"What?"

"I mean, who else is going to want to look at your face for the rest of their life?" he asked.

"Shut the fuck up before I throw this at you," I said, holding up the pack of disposable razors I had in my hand.

"Oh, please no. Not the razors," said Grizz sarcastically.

"You're insufferable," I said. "How many boxes do you have?"

"Fifty," he said. "Probably more in the back room."

I inputted the number into the empty spot on the spreadsheet.

"We'll get the backroom stuff after this, assuming we can pick the lock," I said.

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" asked Grizz.

"With this bad boy," I said, taking a bobby pin out of my hair.

"Is that like an actual thing? Or just something out of a Nancy Drew book?"

"I think so, I mean, we don't have internet to look it up," I said. "It can't be that hard."

"Say that again after you try," laughed Grizz.

I rolled my eyes and got back to my work. "You made me lose count," I complained.

"Suck it up, Buttercup," said Grizz, repeating what I told him on the school bus just last week. The only difference was he had said it in a joking manner.

We'd changed a lot, at the same pace as the world around us. It was just like falling asleep, slowly, then all at once. Just like love, and I was reminded of that famous line from "The Fault in Our Stars." It's all connected: love and hate, friendship and rivalry. Fine lines.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Grizz. "You just got really quiet."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," I said. But I couldn't shake the thought about love and hate. There is a fine line between love and hate. And I think Grizz and I were finally starting to break it.

a/n: thank you guys for reading this chapter! there were some cute moments with lydia and grizz, though it was another filler chapter. the next one will be fugitive, so that should be fun to write. i love you all and have a great rest of your day!