Hacking Into My Heart [An Anonymous x Reader Romance Fanfic]

Chapter 1: Courage

A few minutes later and you got a DM. You expected to see another message from your friend about when they could come over, but the name attached to these words of encouragement was Anonymous.

'Never feel like what you are doing is not enough. The massive operation we are committing to eradicate injustice within the American Government needs Information just as much, if not more, than people on the ground. You are a cog in the machine of The Revolution. You are who we need.'

It was cheesy, but it was heartwarming. You curled up in your blankets and read their words over and over. You didn't think they would notice you. You almost felt embarrassed that they saw you being weak. They needed you. They said they needed you, you couldn't let them down.

By the time the next protest was kicking off, you had memorized almost all the police codes, and split up your chats into windows. If your fingers weren't racing across the keyboard, they were throwing open the curtains so you could write down the cops' license plate numbers. If you weren't sleeping, you were researching, you were collecting. You were becoming a living book of knowledge for your friends.

Your efforts were not in vain. Another DM came through. You had overworked yourself and they noticed. It was an understatement to say there were butterflies in your stomach.

They offered you tools. They offered you equipment. They wanted to help their own, and that's exactly what you were. You rewrote your response over and over to them, but never ended up sending it. Another message had popped up when you were typing. It was a cry for help.

'everythin hurts, pls help, i forgot milk n cant find anyone'

Your friend had decided to run out into the protests, unprotected and alone. You had to step in and do something, because who else would?

You struggled to find proper equipment. A t-shirt tied around your face was the best you could do to hide your identity. You slapped on extra clothes for protection. You stuffed your backpack with water bottles, a jug of milk from the fridge, and extra battery packs. You took in a deep breath of hope before you slipped out the door while your folks slept.

The air smelt like smoke. You coughed into your shirt and shuffled through the streets. You couldn't tell if it was smoke or tear gas that was burning your lungs. You texted your friend back about where they were, but they were incoherent in their messages. You could decrypt shit typing, but not chickenscratch. You'd have to just head into the chaos and hunt them down, yourself.

There was lots of yelling, and lots of chanting. The crowds blended together into masses waving and waning around you. A few times, shots went off and you brought yourself to the ground to avoid the pellets flying above. You didn't know what was going on. You started to panic, fear filling your throat. This wasn't like the radios and chats. This was all over the place, scattered and foggy.

A hand grabbed your arm roughly. You let out a scream, expecting to come face-to-face with one of the cops. Instead, a blank, bright white mask stared back at you, and yanked you behind a barrier to avoid about wave of rubber bullets.

"Are you okay?" The stranger was more focused on making sure you weren't injured. "Where's your group?" They asked, looking over the barrier briefly before picking out fragments of rubber from your jacket. You didn't even notice those there before.

"My friend," you spoke up, and they stopped inspecting you to listen. "They're hurt. I think they got tear gassed.."

"Shit," They cursed under their breath and rubbed the back of their head. You couldn't see their expression behind the Guy Fawkes mask. They dragged you to a group of people, all of them equipped with masks and either water, traffic cones or a leafblower. Amongst their chatter, a better mask got shoved into your arms for you to put on. It would help you get through the gas, and to your friend.

There was only one place gassed so far. It didn't even look like the same city, everything flooded with white clouds. The group you had been recruited into was organized: leafblowers in the front to make a path, cones on the sides to snuff out the tear gas grenades, and you, in the back, watching for new ones, watching for your friend.

Your friend was under a car, their sweater over their face. You could hear them wheezing, face blistered and red. You took off running with them, adrenaline the only reason you're able to carry your friend.

The person in the mask was standing near the medics, almost waiting for you. When they saw you stumble into view, they took your friend out of your arms and back to the medics. You pulled off your bag to help, shoving the milk and water onto the table. Your friend was bawling their eyes out in pain, and grabbed at the air. You took their hand to give them comfort, telling them they would be okay and to breathe.

When everything finally calmed down, you collapsed against a nearby car. You felt tired. Your lungs burned from how hard you took off on your heels. You took off the mask so you could breathe. Your eyes and mouth tingled, but you didn't care. You were just grateful your friend wasn't dead.

"You're a good friend, you know that?" The masked figure was by your side again, with a water bottle to help you out. After chugging down half the bottle, you shook your head. "No, I'm stupid. I've never been out here before. I just do radio," You admitted, glancing back to your friend at the medics tent. "I could have ended up just like them."

"You didn't, though," They put a hand on your shoulder. You straightened up and felt butterflies wiggle in your gut. "You knew enough to protect yourself a little bit. I could tell you were lost out there, but you still got your job done. You're brave for jumping out here for a friend."

You smiled a little bit. Words of encouragement were welcomed at this point, and you looked back at them. You scanned their mask more intensely, wondering what it was. You put two and two together in a few seconds.

"You're one of them," you blurted out, and they jumped. "I thought you all only did online stuff, like hacks and leaks."

They shook their head. "We're involved in different ops, and different roles. Just like your job is on the radio, mines is on the ground."

You opened your mouth to ask more questions, reinvigorated with excitement over who you've been talking to this entire time. Your first question was immediately cut off by a yell from your friend. They had hobbled out of the tent, injured and clearly struggling to walk. The masked stranger put a finger to your face to quiet you and motioned to your friend. "They need you again. We'll meet again, if you ever come back out here," the figure promised with a nod. "If you find me, I'll try to hook you up with more gear and radios. Just don't run blindly into the crowds again. I don't need a fellow member getting trampled."

You promised in your head. Your friend slumped into your arms, and you hobbled you way away from the scene. You took one more glance back to see them staring back at you, giving a small wave before they disappeared into the crowd. It was silly of you, but you replayed their words in your head just like you did with that first message.

'We'll meet again.'

You would make sure you two did. You just had to properly prepare for your new career path, first.