𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 - TMR, Gally

019 - Fight

"Oh, Fry." I shook my head heavily, cringing at what he was saying.

He gave me a poor smile. "Fine, then. I won't say all this stuff. You tired? I shall bring you to your hut."

I smiled back. "I'll go by myself, thanks, Fry."

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yes." I laughed, waving at him before stepping into the dark, quite cool night. I slowly made my way to the hut, yawning already.

My previous nights of sleep were ruined because of dreams over and over again. The dream about the water, which I still didn't understand. Was it really just about the joke they made?

Right before my hand could touch the cool door handle, something hit my head and it all got black.

~

It felt like I was sitting somewhere, I noticed when I seemed to wake up from the sudden blackout. The ground was hard and my head throbbed badly. Groaning, I opened my eyes.

Darkness was all I saw in the first few seconds. The fear of being locked up somewhere again rose, but after blinking a few times I could get a clear view of trees, the lake, and multiple figures.

"There she is." Someone said.

I jumped on my feet right away, just to stumbled back into a tree. Crap. Carl, Peter and Hank surrounded me, all three grinning.

That must've been it. All those months I was aware of the fact that at some point boys would try to touch me. And now it was happening.

But maybe my thoughts were wrong.
"What are you doing?" I asked, hoping to keep my voice clear and blank.

"We just want to tell you the facts, Valerie. The things you should know before you go on like everything is normal."

It took me something to not hold onto the tree. "What?"

"Look." Hank stepped closer to me. "We won't touch you, that's not what we're trying. We're not that sick. All we are doing is inform you some stuff. To help, basically."

My heart pounded in my chest and I was afraid they could hear. "How the hell am I supposed to trust you after all the things you did to me?"

"Because, Valerie, you're about to agree with us." Carl stated. "Starting with... Alby."

I didn't bother to listen to their klunk and got ready to walk away, only to be stopped by Peter. He shook his head, pushing me back in the middle.

"Now that you appear to be the Third-in-command, you-."

"I can punish you with this right now." I interrupted.

"Yeah. You can." Peter admitted before I could continue. "But if you would just listen for five minutes? After that, do whatever the hell you want with us."

"Moving on..." Carl spoke again. "Why do you think Alby wants you to be the Third-in-command?"

"Because otherwise I've got nothing else to do." I crossed my arms. Hopefully that would make me look... bigger.

"He could've just put you in the kitchen and give anyone a warning that would say something about it. I can't say that's less work than making you Third-in-command." Carl raised his eyebrows. "So, what we were thinking... Alby wants you to work with him. He wants to-."

"No, he doesn't!"

He didn't seem affected or impressed. "What do you think will happen one of the nights he asks you and Newt to come upstairs the Homestead and discuss something? What if-."

"You're disgusting." I spat out. "Alby would never. You're just trying to talk me into this or whatever the shuck this if for and-."

"Oh, we're not disgusting. It's them." Now Peter talked. "Newt? The one that claimed you the day after you came up in the Box? What has he been trying all along, hm?"

"He's my friend, you idiot." I clenched my fists. Did they really think I would believe this? "He didn't claim me. No one can claim me."

Anger filled my chest. They were sick in their heads. Liars. And disgusting.

Peter's eyebrows lifted. "I see. But what about Ben, Valerie? Does he suddenly just like you while he never paid attention to you before your attempt? You're weaker now. You can't run properly. Ben's a Runner, and so is Minho. Imagine how fast they can catch up with you when you're trying to run away from-."

"Shut up." I tightened my jaw. "Just let me walk away. I really don't care and even if you turn out to be right- no. That'll never happen in the first place. You're-."

"They're all using you. They're trying to make you trust them just so they can get a chance later, Valerie."

I wanted to open my mouth and yell back, but Hank interrupted.

"Gally. What about him?"
That came as a shot in the heart.

"Is he really the friend he pretends to be? Is he really hoping to write some stupid poems when he gets invited in your hut? That he doesn't enjoy touching you during the wrestling you're planning on?"

"He's gonna beat you up. I'll beat you up." My breaths quickened. "I'll tell him-."

"And who do you think he'll believe?" Peter laughed. "The friends he had for over two years, or some stupid girl with a limp that can't even defend h-."

Crack.

A punch in the nose.

Peter gasped, grabbing his nose and wincing immediately. Blood flowed out of it already.

Hank grunted and jumped forward, just for me to elbow him in the nose. I kicked Carl in the crotch hard enough to make him fall.

I was ready to run away, until Peter took ahold of himself and turned back to me, fists clenched. My heart was still pounding. Now I could finally get them back after all this time. If only Gally gave me that wrestle lesson earlier.

I punched and kicked where I could, definitely ruining their faces and hurting them good. I did realize Peter might've had a few problems with controlling his anger later.

"They don't care about you, Valerie! No one cares about you." He said through his teeth as I fought Carl.

I swung my fist back, ready to punch Peter too. But then he grabbed it and twisted it behind my back. Crying out and kicking with my feet, I got pushed onto my stomach, almost getting leaves into my mouth.

"We told you we wouldn't touch you. Not so smart to start a fight without realizing you won't come out of it without a scratch or bruise yourself."

~

Wincing, I lifted my shirt up. I safely arrived in my hut about ten minutes later. They hit me well, but I hit back and somehow managed to run away when they didn't pay much attention.

Blue bruises covered my ribs and when I touched or flexed them, it hurt, but I was pretty sure they looked a lot worse than me.

They had kicked me on the ribs repeatedly, their hard shoes nearly cracking my bones. It did cost me a few tears, and yet I felt... strong. I had fought with them. I didn't let their statements in my mind. I defended myself. I defended my friends while they weren't even around.

Half smiling and half crying, I lay down on my bed, struggling to find the best position without harming my body even more.