The Failed Project (Fitz Vacker x Reader)

Chapter 19- Fitzroy & I

     He seemed to ponder it for a moment before he sucked in a breath. He looked down at my hand gripping his, and I became hyper-aware of our closeness. I let go of his hand, slightly backing up. 

     "I'm going to get bandages, stay here." He was made to move towards the door again. 

      "Wait- Fitz-" I grabbed his hand once again, but this time he flipped around himself. "I'm not gonna tell, okay? I promise, just... stay here." He squeezed my hand for reassurance, his accent heavier than ever. 

     I nodded, letting go of him and moving back to sit on my bed. He left my room, and I sat there watching him leave. 

     "Hey, I'm Fitz, who are you?" Fitz Vacker walked up to me, licking the strip to open his locker just as I had done a moment before. 

     "I'm Y/n." I gave him a small smile. I wasn't expecting to be spoken to by someone else on the first day of school, much less Fitz Vacker. 

     "Well, I've got my telepathy session first. What do you have?" The boy kept talking to me, asking questions. I noticed he had an accent, one similar to his father's. I suppose it was a Vacker thing, though I wouldn't know if it was. There had never been interactions between the Vackers and my family. It wasn't too strong an accent, but it was definitely different. I quite liked the way it sounded. 

     "I've got my Gusting session," I finally replied, and this time I actually turned to look at the boy. 

      He pulled a genuine smile, "A guster? That's cool," 

     I shrugged, smiling at him, "Yeah, not as cool as telepathy, though. Especially the youngest to manifest." 

     He leaned against his locker, looking cocky, "Oh, so you've heard?" His accent seemed to become thicker as he spoke. 

     I shrugged, shutting my locker and turning away from him, "Nope. I have no idea what you're talking about." 

     My memories were interrupted by the very boy in them walking back into the room. In his hands, he held bangages, as well as balms. 

     He walked back over to the chair, sitting down and placing the supplies on my nightstand. 

     He stared at me expectantly, as if waiting. "Well, come here."

     When I didn't follow his instructions, he sighed, gently grabbed my hands, and pulled me towards him. I wasn't expecting it, so while I moved toward him, I also began to fall face-first downward, but he grabbed my shoulders, a small laugh leaving his lips as he pushed me back up and pulled the chair even closer towards me. 

     "Okay then," I squeaked out in shock at the quick action. He let out a short, airy laugh as he shook his head slightly. 

     Grabbing a balm, he took some onto his hand and reached for the burn marks on my knee, before my hand flew out and stopped his. 

     "What are you doing?" 

     "What does it look like I'm doing?" 

     "Trying to poison me." 

     "Why would I poison you?" 

     "To kill me, duh." 

     He raised an eyebrow at me and let out a chuckle. He seemed to laugh more and more during the time we spent together. 

     "Don't you have to drink poison?" 

     "You're fusing it into my skin." 

     He shook his head as a genuine smile graced his lips, and at the banter and seeing his own, I let the corner of my lips turn up, as well. The air felt light. It felt nothing like it had When we first walked in here, full of awkward tension. It wasn't anything like the heavy weight of desperation before he had left. It was... nice. It was something I hadn't felt in a long time. 

     He let the balm touch the burn marks and slowly began to ease it into the skin, until he heard my sharp intake of breath. Painful, it definitely was. 

     "I'm sorry, I'll try to be quick," He told me, reaching his free hand up to rest it on my hand that was clenched by my side. His thumb rubbed circles on the back of my hand, calming me slightly. 

     As he began to rub the balm in again, I wrapped my fingers around his and squeezed, my head falling back against the wall out of pain. He did not protest, he only gave a gentle squeeze back. 

     He was, in fact, quick, and next second I looked down to see him wrapping white bandages around my knee. Just like that, the hand-shaped burn was covered under wrappings, and felt cool underneath them.  

     I mumbled a small thank you to Fitz, smiling at him as he leaned back in the cushioned chair again. I fell back on my bed, soaking in the comfort it gave me. 

     I turned my head towards him, smiling at him, "Are you gonna sit there and stare like a creep? There's room for both of us." 

     He raised his eyebrows at me, to which I motioned to the extra space next to me on the bed, enough for one more person to sprawl out beside me. He did just that. 

     He turned his head towards me, as well, smiling at me. 

     For what seemed like a long time, we laid there, staring at each other with smiles gracing our faces. 

     This was a side of Fitz Vacker I had never seen. In Level 3, I met the humorous, friendly side of Fitz Vacker. At Atlantis and Havenfield, I met the fearful side of Fitz Vacker. In the dungeons, I met the protective, loyal side of Fitz Vacker. Since I had been found, I met the angry side of Fitz Vacker. The boy had anger issues, this I could tell, and I don't think I was the first to experience them. I never experienced them to their full extent, either. I happened to be unconscious whilst he delt with his anger for the Neverseen and I. I saw bits of his anger at the trial. He was an angry boy, I was sure, yet he hadn't been angry with me. This side of him, though, I quite enjoyed it. He was gentle, he was kind, he was happy. It was almost like the Fitz Vacker I met at the lockers in Level 3, but in a way it was more intimate. 

     We were closer, now, an odd thing, really. Before, we had been friends who joked with one another between classes. Now, I had helped destroy a city he was in, kidnap him, lock him away, and then rescue him and all his friends. Horrible things I had done to him, but we were closer now. 

     He should be angry at me, more than anyone. I had chosen them, just as his brother had, yet he wasn't angry with me. He lay here, smiling at me after taking care of me. 

     Looking at him, I felt as though I could lay there forever. In that moment, no one felt more important than him. In that moment, it felt like it was him and I. 

     Until we heard rustling, then suddenly it was Luke, him, and I. Suddenly I was no longer laying down, staring at the handsome teal-eyed boy with a smile, but I was in the arms of my best friend. 

     I wasn't sure whether I was happy in Luke's arms or if I wanted to go back to Fitz's eyes.