What We Know | John Laurens x Reader

12. Sounds

Hey guys! Sorry for my small leave of absence. (Explanation is on my message board) Anyways, enjoy!
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Y/N's POV (1 month later)

This time, I was awake before John even snuck into my tent. Not that I was doing much besides looking around tiredly. Boy, did I miss caffeine.

Eventually, I heard the tent flap rustle and saw John peek inside. "Let's go," he whispered. I looked at him blankly, not wanting to move.

"Get up, Eli," he whined.

'Make me,' I mouthed, glaring playfully. I crossed my arms and yawned widely, only making him smirk at me.

"Fine then," he snickered, walking over to my cot. I covered my face with my pillow and John sighed dramatically.

Then he did something that made me want to smack and hug him at the same time. He lifted me up from my cot and slung me over his shoulder. I dropped my pillow in surprise, punching his back weakly.

"Laurens!" I squeaked. Very manly.

He ignored me, chuckling softly as he carried me through the camp. Needless to say, we got a couple of odd looks from the other soldiers. Normally, I would've squirmed until he dropped me... but I was too lazy. Who was I to argue against free transportation?

Pretty soon we were back in the clearing with the rest of the crew. John set me down next to Herc and I brushed myself off, looking around innocently. "What?" I smiled.

Laff and Herc shared an amused look while John adjusted his uniform. Alex glared at me darkly as if I had personally offended him. I returned the look.

"Oh!" Herc gasped, jumping up excitedly. "I was hanging out near the horses and I overheard General Schuyler talking to his second in command. He said that if the war drags on like this, then we might be released back home soon! I can go see my son!"

"You have a son?!" Laff and I exclaimed, looking to him with wide eyes.

"Yep!" Herc smiled proudly, causing Laff and me to frown. I had a feeling we were both mourning Mullette.

"And his names John!" John beamed, "He's adorable, like me."

"No arguments there," I muttered softly under my breath.

That's when I heard it. The quiet sound of hooves moving quickly through the woods.

The boys heard it too. We all shot up, moving towards the noise with wide eyes. Alex ushered us behind a nearby bush and we peeked through the leaves, panicking slightly at the sight of redcoats.

They traveled in a line, the majority of the men on horseback. A man with a funky looking hat on was at the front of the line, giving orders to his soldiers. "WE ATTACK NEAR SUNSET!" EvilFunkyHatDude shouted, scanning the area around him carefully.

Herc pulled us a safe distance away and we sat in silence. "Those redcoats don't want it with me," John growled, "cause I will—"

"We have to tell the general," I interrupted, trying not to laugh. They nodded in response and we ran off towards the camp in search of FunkyHatDude.

By the time we made it back, men were walking around, getting ready for training. We weaved through them until we arrived at General Schuylers tent.

"The British are nearby!" Alex shouted, stepping inside with the rest of us right behind him. FunkyHatDude jumped up, pushing aside his chair.

"Are you absolutely certain?" he frowned, grabbing his gun. I was impressed. I didn't know that he was capable of talking at a normal volume.

"Yes sir! General Howe plans on attacking at sunset!" Alex nodded dutifully.

"Then we'll just have to attack first," FunkyHatDude said, leading us out of his tent and to the center of the camp.

"What's happening?" Jeremy asked, pulling me aside.

"Just watch," I muttered nervously.

"THERE ARE REDCOATS NEARBY AND THEY PLAN TO ATTACK AT SUNSET!" FunkyHatDude hollered, "WE'LL HAVE TO ATTACK FIRST! GRAB YOUR GUNS AND PREPARE TO FIGHT!"

The soldiers surrounding us jumped in surprise, scattering about to grab their weapons. "Remember what we practiced," Jeremy yelled, running towards our tent. I nodded, grabbing a gun from the barrel and racing off in search of John.

I found him standing near the edge of the woods with Herc, Laff, and Alex. They all held their weapons in a tight grip, looking around anxiously. "We're going to have to lead them to the redcoats," Herc murmured.

"Okay then," I stammered, taking a deep breath as I watched a crowd of men formed around us.

This was it. My first real battle. I might have to kill today. Would I even be able to kill? Or would I get killed? Izze's voice rang in my ears. "I swear to freakin Lin-Manuel Miranda that if you die again, I'm going to freakin revive you so that I can kill you myself!" she sobbed.

"I promise, I'll come back to you," I told her. Would I though?

FunkyHatDude signaled for us to move out and we stepped into the woods, moving quietly in the direction of the clearing. As we walked my fears began to grow.

What if someone goes to shoot at me and I freeze up? What if— what if someone goes to shoot at one of my friends, and I freeze up?

I shook my head, pushing away those thoughts and focusing on finding the clearing. A few minutes later, we arrived and FunkyHatDude held up a hand, telling us to stop. He peeked through the bushes before telling us to spread out.

The redcoats were calm and unsuspecting, chatting quietly while EvilFunkyHatDude kept watch. Apparently, he was doing a terrible job of it, cause he never noticed the hundreds of soldiers surrounding him and his men.

I situated myself near Laurens and held my gun at the ready, waiting for the general to make the first move. Then I heard it. The sound of a gun going off from a nearby tree. A redcoat fell to the floor in a heap.

The battle had begun.

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5/16/2020

I'm honestly so exhausted right now... so imma end it here. Hehe. You're welcome for that.

QOTD: Will you be able to shoot a man? Or will you freeze up?

Thanks for reading! -SunkissedChild5