School for Assassins (Rewritten) - Complete

Chapter 10 - Team Dynamics

Chapter 3. This is mostly the same. I've cut out some parts, changed some other parts, but essentially it's the same.

Shawn:

This team will be interesting to work with. I was glad to have gotten Ely on my team. Despite sending me to the medical building multiple times, I really liked her. I had hoped that I wouldn't be on a team with any hot heads, and it didn't look like I was.

Their specialties will all come in handy, and I suddenly asked, "Does anyone own a car?" I knew most students didn't have one, but since Dominic specialized in them, it was worth a shot.

I glanced at Jordan, and he shook his head. "I have a license, but no car." He replied.

I nodded, "Same here." I looked over at Dominic questioningly.

He grinned, "Yeah. I have two vehicles. I have a truck and a car. I'm saving up for a motorcycle next." He replied. I was surprised that he had two vehicles, but then he added, "I can make nearly anything run, so I got them for cheap and worked on them myself."

I already knew that Ely didn't have a car, and had barely passed the test to get her license, so I didn't bother to ask her.

I picked one of her knives up off the table and felt her gaze immediately snap to me. She frowned as she watched me look at it and I sent her a reassuring smile, "Relax, El. I'm just looking at it." I said without actually looking at her. I could still feel her eyes on me as I looked it over. "These knives aren't practical." I murmured.

I glanced up as her brow furrowed, "But they are practical. They're switchblades." She kept her words to a minimum and I had to chuckle softly. It was the first time I had actually gotten a close up view of her knives, but I wasn't sure why she'd consider them practical.

"How are they practical?" I asked her as I glanced up.

She shot me a tiny smile and said, "They only work for me." She picked up a knife from the table and ran her thumb along the side and the blade sprung out. I admit that I was impressed.

"Alright, let's choose bedrooms. We can all go unpack." I stood up and stretched. I frowned when Ely stayed where she was as the rest of us walked to our rooms. The only movement she made was to grab a couple of her knives and stash them on herself.

Dominic chuckled at my expression, "I think we make her nervous." He said.

Ely:

I felt my face heat up at his comment, especially when Jordan agreed. I bit my lip and glanced at my knives, and then back at the boys. I wanted to ask them a question, but I was afraid they'd think it was a stupid question, so I stayed quiet.

Jordan gave me a curious look, but it was Shawn you said, "El, if you have a question, just ask." His voice was a little gruff, but when I looked at him, his blue eyes were nothing but kind.

I finally worked up the nerve to ask, "Was I the only one carrying weapons?" I wasn't sure if Shawn was carrying any, considering I'd only seen him fight in hand-to-hand combat.

Shawn sighed softly and shook his head, "She has a point. If we made her disarm herself, it's only fair to do the same."

Jordan chuckled, "Fine, I'm not a walking arsenal like she was, but I have these." He dropped a couple of sais on the table.

Dominic dropped three guns on the table. One he had pulled from a holster from behind his shoulder, one from a holster around his ribs, and the third from the waistband of his pants. "I'm not exactly the best fighter, so I prefer to stay out of the battle." He admitted as he scratched his nose.

Shawn tossed down a couple of knives similar to mine, and I looked at them curiously. "I only have two because I don't throw them." I watched him for a moment to make sure he wouldn't object as I picked one up.

I attempted to balance it on my finger as I inspected it, "It's a good thing you don't throw it... It would make a horrible throwing knife." I said, almost to myself.

Shawn gave me a look before he announced, "Alright, now that we're all unarmed, time to choose rooms and unpack. After we eat, we'll set up some house rules." Everyone nodded in agreement, and Jordan practically lifted me out of the chair.

"Come on, Pipsqueak. You can have the room next to mine." He pulled me towards a hallway off one side of the living room while Shawn and Dominic went down the other.

"Pipsqueak?" I asked. I was mildly outraged, but he just grinned. I bit my lip and my legs felt a little shaky, which I knew from past experiences that it was a bad thing.

I was proven correct when I tripped over my own feet and we both ended up sprawled out in the hallway. To make matters worse, I ended up straddling his hips, and he was staring up at me in complete surprise. He chuckled softly, "I guess this was what Bridget meant when she gave me her condolences." I felt my cheeks heat badly as I attempted to scramble off of him and apologize at the same time.

A huff of air left him suddenly, and he grunted. "El, please quit moving." The pained grunt that escaped from him next had me pausing in my mid-panicked flight.

Footsteps from the living room sounded seconds before Dominic let out a shout of laughter and I suspected that the cough Shawn gave was to mask his laughter as well. "What happened here?" Shawn asked.

He moved over to us and gently grasped my hips before lifting me easily off of Jordan. I was too mortified to speak, and Jordan let out a few more wheezes before he said, "I don't really know... She tripped, we ended up like that... and then she kicked me where it counts and I'm pretty sure I saw stars for a moment..."

My face felt like an inferno, and I leaned against the wall, only to sink down into a squat when my legs decided to give out. I was shaking so badly I was afraid they'd think I was having a seizure.

Shawn moved over to me and sat down, "Are you okay, El?" He asked softly.

"I-I'm... um... I'm s-sorry." I managed to stutter out somehow.

He chuckled, "There's nothing to be sorry for, Ely. For... Well, safe keepings, could I get your knives back. I promise to give them back before the test tomorrow." His voice was nothing but kind and soothing, and I was wondering why they were being so nice to me.

I stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before I shook my sleeve out. Three knives fell into his palm and he raised a brow at me, "Are there any more, Babe?" He asked softly.

I sighed and dropped another two in his hand. "Thank you. I appreciate the trust you're showing me." He glanced at the floor where Jordan was still moaning. "Jordan, get up before I really kick you in the nuts." His voice was unsympathetic as he stood up and offered me a hand. I took it as I felt myself blush again over the casual way he was talking about... that area.

Jordan mumbled something that I didn't hear and moved off to the bedroom on the far side of the hallway. "You get the other room, Ely." He threw over his shoulder as he disappeared through his doorway.

Shawn helped me up, "Are you going to be okay?" He asked. I nodded and glanced at the floor, already feeling like the weakest link on our team. He gave my head a soft pat and said, "Don't worry about it, Babe. We'll figure out team dynamics as we go along." I gave a short nod and muttered a thank you as I stepped into my new room.