• |DREAMS TO REALITY| • [SCHOOLBUSGRAVEYARD X READER]

CHAPTER 31 - Subside Emotions

"And you chose now to bring this up? Now?!" She pushed her hair back, clearly showing her annoyance at hearing this at the last minute. "After all the prepping, the training, the sneaking around traps, and right before we actually do something, you want to back out?"

"There's to many right now!""

"That's why we have the traps!"

Y/N was left stunned as she listened to the argument. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'No, no, no, no, no... This can't be happening,' Y/N thought, clenching her fist in anger.

"No." The redhead turned around, trying to calm herself. "NO!" She then faced the group and said, "I'm getting that jeep. Even if we decide we don't need guns, we'll eventually need to go out there and learn how the place works so we can find a way out. That's what we agreed on!" She exclaimed.

"Hey, Ash... maybe you should-" Aiden tried to intervene, but his efforts were unsuccessful.

Ashlyn shouted in frustration, "Don't tell me what I should do!" Her outburst startled him as she turned to face him. "If you hadn't been so persistent in bothering me, I never would have gone to Savannah and none of this would have ever happened. You keep pushing my boundaries and I'm tired of it!"

Tyler – "Why are you so worked up?!"

Ashlyn – "Because we're ready now, but if something goes wrong in the future because I let us wait and not take initiative, it'd be my fault as leader."

Some of the others stood there awkwardly, watching as the two argued. Aiden noticed that Y/N had gone quiet and became worried. He checked on her and saw her looking down with her hands clenched together. Her breathing was becoming labored and she felt a burning sensation in her chest. The feeling was overwhelming, suffocating, and painful. She felt like she couldn't hold it in much longer.

"Yeah well no one said you had to be 'leader', you did that on your own!"

"Who else was going to do it?! I've been hearing those monsters all my life so apparently I have some werid connection to this place! This all happened when the phantom grabbed me, and I didn't say anything about it." Ashlyn's voice grew louder as she started to vent out her anger.

"I don't think it's entirely my fault, I'm just as confused and scared as you all are. But I'm the best suited to take 'responsibility' for what's happening, right?! To try and find a way out of this mess and protect you guys at the same time!" After expressing all her thoughts, she attempted to calm her breathing, which had become quite heavy.

Everything became quiet, no one dared to speak. In the middle of it all, Y/N was still attempting to control her emotions following Ashlyn's speech, but she couldn't keep them in any longer.

"You can't be serious," Y/N mumbled, the first to speak up and catching the group's attention. As she slowly raised her head, everyone noticed the change in her voice. "We did not just spend a week - no, a few weeks - getting everything ready for this moment, and now you're telling me you guys want to back down because of those things! Haven't we already been through hell already, so what's the difference now? You said it yourself."

Everyone, including Ashlyn, was stunned. Though they all understood the situation, no one dared to speak, not even Ashlyn. Tyler initially wanted to argue but soon realized that Y/N was correct.

"Don't even try to deny it," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Ashlyn is right. After all the times of wanting to rush through everything and hurry over to Savannah, you suddenly don't want to. This is ridiculous! Where is all the confidence?"

Tyler couldn't say anything, all he did was lower his head and clench his fist, showing a sigh of annoyance. Some in the group wanted to reach out and calm her down, but they knew there were certain things that needed to be said for progress to be made. Y/N could feel her throat starting to feel dry as she struggled to catch her breath due to her frustration. Doubts and concerns were swirling around the group's minds, and they all wanted the same thing - to be free. Sensing the tension, Y/N noticed the worry in some of their eyes and decided to try to ease the situation.