Poker Face

Chapter 16 - Making Enemies

"Get off him!" Aven yelled, running up as the man grabbed Negan's gun off the ground, sitting up over him and aiming it at the center of his forehead. Negan went still, a hard frown set on his face, the curve of his lips etched through his salt and pepper beard. "I said get off of him!" The man kept the gun to Negan's head but looked up to see Aven now wielding the spiked bat. Negan made his move to knock the man off him, the gun once again falling the ground. Before the man could do anything else, Aven was at his side with the muzzle of her gun pressed against his head. In her other hand, she swung Lucille in loose circles, her jaw clenched and her eyes on fire.

"That's my fuckin' girl!" Negan cheered, rising to his feet and dramatically dusting off his black jeans. He'd seen Aven in frenzied rage when she wasn't truly herself, but this was a new side of her: the violent side who knew exactly what she was doing. "Looks like you pissed my lady friends the fuck off," he said, beaming at the man in front of him. "I can fuckin' speak from fuckin' experience: the spiky one is a bitch and a half but the taller one? You do not want to get on her fuckin' bad side, and it looks like you just got on her motherfucking bad side." Aven rolled her eyes at Negan's monologuing. The whole reason the man had stopped was because Negan himself had just gotten on her "motherfucking bad side."

"Do you know how to drive this thing?" Aven snapped, her gaze and aim not leaving the man, who remained on his knees on the ground, glaring up at her.

"Sure fuckin' do," Negan grinned. "Gonna need you to hold onto Lucille if I'm driving." Aven glanced at him with a nod, telling him to get on the bike. At that moment, the man jumped to his feet and went for Aven's gun, knocking her backwards so she almost lost her footing. He wrestled the gun out of her hand and turned it back on her but when he saw Negan move out of the corner of his eye, he switched his aim. Without another thought, he lowered the gun to Negan's knee and pulled the trigger with an empty click. Negan opened his mouth to laugh in the man's face, but Aven beat him to it, holding out her hand and prompting Negan to retrieve his gun off the ground and give it to her. She took it and aimed again at the man's head, a smile twitching at her mouth as she gritted her teeth in fury. Having the upper hand always made her cocky.

"Start it up," she nodded to the bike, not taking her eyes off the man. Negan complied, the smug grin not leaving his face. The bike growled to life and Negan revved the engine a couple times, turning back to Aven who still had his gun on the man. She didn't remove her aim as she stepped around him and swung her leg over the back of the bike, carefully lay Lucille between herself and Negan, and wrapped an arm around his torso. "Let's go," she said firmly.

"What, you're gonna let this fucker live?" Aven's mouth twitched again in conflict. She wasn't happy with the man for turning back on her, and she was even less happy watching him hit Negan. But Negan had been the instigator; did the man really deserve to die? She got back off the bike and stood over him.

"I like your vest," Aven said flatly. "Give it to me." Negan chuckled softly, seeing she didn't want to kill the man but wasn't content letting him walk off like nothing happened. The man scowled and moved slowly to remove his crossbow which hung on his back. "Careful," Aven warned when he lifted it over his head and held it in both hands. He begrudgingly tossed it to his side before taking off his leather vest, adorned with a pair of white angel wings spread on the back, and handed it to her.

Aven kept the gun drawn in one hand as she slipped one arm into the vest, before switching hands and doing the same with the other arm. It was huge on her, the length reaching almost halfway down her thighs. All without taking the gun from the man's forehead, she took Lucille back off the bike seat and reached behind her to slide the bat horizontally under the the fastened flap of her backpack. She got back on the bike, again wrapping her arm again around Negan, her hand flattening on his abs before she had a moment of self-consciousness and balled her hand into a fist. "Go," she ordered softly, twisted at the waist so she could make sure the man on the ground didn't go for his crossbow.

"Yes ma'am," Negan sneered as they pulled away and picked up speed. Aven kept her aim on the man until the road curved and left him out of view. She let out a long sigh, holstering Negan's gun on her hip. She wrapped her other arm around him and leaned into his back, her cheek pressed against his leather jacket. They rode for about ten minutes, pulling off the road when the woods ended and broke into a wide open, golden field. Negan brought the bike to a stop and reached down to unclasp Aven's hands from in front of him before turning to her.

"You okay?" he asked. Aven nodded, her expression mostly flat. "It's gonna be dark soon and we can't stay out here."

"Aren't we close to that town?" she asked. Negan was still planning on going towards the town and grinned to himself, realizing his plan was falling into place regardless of setbacks.

"Sure fuckin' are," he said, revving the engine. "You good to fuckin' go?" Aven looked up to make brief eye contact, not forgetting the events that had transpired that day. All she'd been trying to do was leave Negan, and it wasn't working out. She couldn't walk away in the middle of nowhere with the sun setting and now she'd have to spend another night alone with him. The thing that bothered her most was that the thought excited her.

"Let's just go," she grumbled.

"Yes ma'am," he said with a wink before turning back and revving the engine again. Aven didn't initially hold back onto him. "Oh, come on, doll. Don't be fucking shy." He reached behind him and grabbed both her wrists, pulling them around himself and holding them firmly to his stomach. He hesitated for a second before pulling her hands down towards his crotch. She immediately yanked her arms away and brought her hands to rest behind her on the bike seat.

"Just go," she growled. Negan shrugged and jerked the bike forward an inch, causing Aven's arms to fly back out in front of her to grab onto his shoulders. Once she steadied herself, she hit her hands against his back. "You're a fucking asshole."

"And you're gonna be a dead fucking asshole if you fall off while we're going full speed," he warned. "I'm not slowing my fuckin' joyride just to keep your dumb ass from hurting yourself." Aven hesitated for a long moment, her hands rested on the seat between the two of them.

"Try to put my hands anywhere near you dick again and I'll cooperatively make sure you regret it," she growled before locking her arms around him again.

"Noted," he mumbled gruffly before kicking off and getting back on the road. The sun was setting over the stretch of field as they cruised through the plane, pink and orange bits of sky swirling together like tye-dye. Settling down, Aven tilted her head back and savored the feel of the wind through her hair. With her torso pressed flush against Negan's back, she felt him hum in satisfaction as he enjoyed the ride. They began to pass houses and abandoned farmsteads and a town came into view on the horizon. They cruised into the town, passing through some twisting, rural streets before coming to an area where the tiny town turned into a low-scale city center, ultimtately stopping in front of an abandoned hotel.

The previous night, Aven had let herself indulge the feelings she was having towards Negan because she believed the next step was walking away for good. Of course, she then woke up next to him, spent another day with him, and saved his life. There was a part of her warning that the previous night was a mistake and if she talked herself into doing it again, she'd be sorry. But there was a more prominent part of her making the same excuses as last night: You can enjoy life for tonight and then you never have to see him again.

~
Not knowing makes me happy
I just want to wait and see
(don't go)

Stay Monkey - The Julie Ruin