Purple

Twenty-Eight

"I just..." Chubs stalked past them, only to stop and turn back again. "I never believed you, you know," his voice shook as he spoke, "when you talked about us getting out of camp and getting home safely. I knew most of us wouldn't make it, with you in charge."

As soon as Liam stepped forward so did Luce. She held her hands out in front of her to keep him from doing something she knew he would most definitely regret. Chubs stormed away heading back to the direction of their cabin. Liam tried to take another step forward but he was stopped by Luce once again.

She pushed him back and gave him a look that basically read cool off now. "Listen to me, okay? I know you're pissed and so is Chubs if it wasn't already obvious. Just let him go. He needs to blow off steam and maybe you should too."

The Blue looked like he was about to say something, but he let out a frustrated grunt instead. He spun on his heel and started heading toward the nearby trees in the opposite direction of where Chubs was heading.

"That...was..." Ruby sighed as she didn't know what to say. She looked around a little before she asked, "Do you want to-"

"Yeah," she said before they went to go lean their backs against a trunk of one of the nearest trees.

They were quiet for the most part. If they talked it was about something else instead of what just happened. It was mentally decided to discuss other things so they could keep their minds off of the earlier events. At this point, talking about something else was very much wanted.

"How are your Purple lessons with Luke coming along?" The Orange asked.

The Purple smiled a little. "Going good actually. I feel more confident now. I sometimes have my moments, but I do my best to get over them quickly." She looked down at her hands, smirking a bit. "So... You think my brother's cute, huh?"

Ruby's eyes widened. She could feel her cheeks heating up. "W-what?" 

Her reaction made Luce laugh. "Ruby, it's okay if you think he's cute."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Chubs told you, didn't he? Please tell me he didn't tell Luke."

A Cheshire smile formed on her lips. "Oh, so you do admit he is cute?"

Ruby looked at her in shock. "Was that a test? Is this a prank?"

Luce waved her arms and shook her head. "No, Ruby, it's okay. Chubs did tell me. He's petty but not that petty." She chuckled. "Besides, if it makes you feel any better..." She sugarcoated her voice, a smile still plastered on her lips, but it weakened so it was more sincere, "Luke so happens to think the same about you. You two must have some kick-ass conversations when you get the chance."

The Orange furrowed her brows as she didn't believe her. "Are...are you serious?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Hey, if you two want to I'm perfectly fine with it. You do you." She became a bit worried as she realized something. "I hope I didn't make things weird for you two now. Because if I did-"

Now it was Ruby's turn for her to wave her arms and shake her head. "No, no, you're fine. It's okay. I'll just...act normal around him." She shrugged. "I don't know."

It was nearly dark by the time Liam came back, rubbing his face. It was obvious he was punching things because both of his fists contained fresh and dried blood.

"I'm gonna go see how Chubs is," Ruby told her before putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Good luck." She smiled at her softly before she got up and left.

You too if you see him, Luce told her in her head. She smirked when Ruby gave her a look.

When Liam got closer, Luce held out an arm to him, wrapping it around his waist. His arm settled down over her shoulders and he pulled her close.

"I hope you know he didn't mean it," she told him as she guided him to a log so they could sit down.

He was still shaking and he looked quite unsteady on his feet. When he sat down, he didn't really sit but more like collapsed instead. He leaned forward and braced his elbows against his knees. "Doesn't make it any less true."

Luce sighed. She had her left elbow resting on her knee as her other hand brushed her hair back to be behind her shoulders. She looked at him and she could see how much of an impact it made. She moved close and looped her right arm through his and rested her head against his shoulder. She felt him give in as he took a deep breath and released it, relaxing his body and no longer being as tensed as it was.

They sat there for a long time. No exaggeration to the time because they literally watched the sky go from bright to dark, the sun disappearing from them. The silence and stillness between them suddenly grew to be unbearable.

"Do you think he's okay?" He whispered as he sat up slowly, causing her to lift her head up. They, however, didn't pull their arms away from each other.

"It's...a mad world...for us all," she turned to look at him, "but I think we should go and see for ourselves."

She was the first one to stand up. Because of sitting in the same position for quite some time, her legs were sore, especially her knees. However, she didn't express the discomfort and instead stood in front of him. She held her hand out for him to take, to which he did with a small smile, and together the two went back to the cabin.

When they arrived, they saw Chubs and Ruby sitting next to each other. She had a hand on his shoulder as silent tears streamed down his cheeks. The words I'm sorry were clearly written on his face, as well as the emotion of guilt.

"It's over," he said as Liam sat next to him, Luce sitting next to him while Ruby remained where she was sitting. "It's all over."

And they didn't move for a long time.

edited