Hell and Back (EXO x Reader)

Geared Up (Trial 30)

Word count: 1282

Chapter warnings: Dangerous actions

[Please do not replicate any of the behaviors read in this book.]

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"Are you insane?" Suho asked incredulously. "You didn't even check who the limited ability was! Or what the dropout fee was set to! Or-"

"Does it even matter?" She cut him off. "I have to do the trial either way. If it's really that important to you..." She checked it briefly. "The limited ability is Kai, and the fee is still the same. So stop freaking out."

"What is the trial?" He asked, glaring at her.

"What?"

"The trial. What do you have to do?" Reading it, she swallowed, saying,

"To ride on the hood of the car while it's driving. And in the italics it mentions that you have to be doing at least fifty."

"Are you kidding me, Y/N?" Kyungsoo asked. "That's insane, you're not doing it."

"Uh, yes I am." She said, staring at him. "We just went to an illegal underground fighting arena and punched a cop, I'm gonna sit on the hood of a damn car."

"There's a lot of car ones." Lay muttered in observation.

"I'll drive." Kris said.

"You are not condoning her doing this!" Suho argued with him, but he came to her defense,

"She's right, it's our fault for not letting her do the earlier ones. We should have had her take the first two if we didn't want this to happen. If she wants to drop out, I wouldn't blame her, but if she's going to do it, let her do it!"

"She's going to get herself killed." He snarled.

"I can heal any injuries that might occur." Lay offered,

"And I still have the ability to reverse time, if I have to." Tao said as well.

"...Have you?" Chen asked after a moment.

"Huh?"

"Have you had to reverse time? I mean, we wouldn't remember, right?"

"Well, no, I guess you wouldn't..." Tao said, but then held up a hand. "No worries, though, I would tell you if something went wrong, I promise."

"The point is, I'm doing the trial." Y/N said with an air of finality. "Kris will drive, and if any of you have a problem with it, too bad. Now get out of the car." The boys filed out one by one after her, Suho the last to leave the vehicle. He leaned over to whisper something to Kris, but she couldn't quite pick it up. Finally, he too exited. She went to go sit on the hood, the metal warm against the back of her legs. As she did so, though, Kris got out of the car too.

"Hold on, you can still do the challenge without being stupid. I have a bunch of stuff in the back, I'm sure I have bungee cords or ropes we can use to make sure you'll stay on the car."

"It's really not-"

"I didn't ask." He said, moving around to the trunk as the audience of boys watched him. Sure enough, he did have some tethers lying around. They were bright orange and clearly not new, but they would suffice. Making sure that they wouldn't interfere with the function of the car, he hooked them onto the vehicle, loosely draping them over her body.

"Sit however you want to be sitting when we go, just make sure you're not blocking the windshield too much." She nodded in agreement, slightly adjusting her position. It wasn't the most comfortable, but she had the most contact with the car as possible. Making sure he was okay with the way she was laying, he picked up the clasp of the ropes, tightening them over her. They were uncomfortably wrapped around her as he double checked them, but he would rather be safe than sorry.

"Alright, let's hit the road."

"Shouldn't we come with you?" Suho asked.

"No." Is all Kris said before getting in the vehicle, turning it on, and slowly pulling out. It was dark, so hopefully no one would notice anything strange. Since they only had to go fifty, they didn't technically have to get on the highway.

"Everything alright?" He asked, yelling so that she could hear him. He had opened the windows, but the glass was still making his voice a little bit muffled.

"Yeah," she yelled back, giving a thumbs up, "Just go ahead!" He nodded, watching the group of boys fade away in his rearview mirror. Once he was on a two lane road, he began picking up speed, trying to get up to fifty as quickly as possible so that they didn't have to drive for too long. Her body was pushed into the hood by the wind as it heated up, engine vibrating below. Her eyes squinted as he passed other cars on the left, unsure of how fast they were going. Her eyes were stinging in the city night air, so much that she could barely see the stoplight change to yellow as they came up on it.

Eyes widening, Kris slammed on the brakes, trying to make sure they wouldn't get a camera ticket for running the light. He wasn't aware of the momentum this would cause for her, though. Practically getting thrown forward at fifty miles an hour, the ropes constricted her around the middle, arms and legs outstretched hovering an inch or two over the metal. The car stopped, slamming her back down into the hood as she cried out in pain. Flicking the hazards on, Kris jumped out of the car, running to her side.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" He asked in a loud, slightly shaking voice. She'd never heard him raise his voice above annoying or angry, but now he seemed genuinely concerned. Unfortunately, she was in too much pain to say anything. "Okay, uh, I- I don't- alright, look, we'll just bring you to a doctor! That's it, there must be a hostpital-" She frantically shook her head, gripping her midsection.

"You can't, the trials- find Lay-"

"Um- yeah, yeah okay, that makes sense-" Untying her, he picked her up off the hood, hooking one arm under her shoulder blades and the other under her knees. Her skin was overly warm on his hands, still a glaring red from the heat of the car. Opening the car door awkwardly, he laid her down in the middle row, shutting it behind her and jumping back in the driver's seat. She groaned as he pulled a U-turn, speeding back to where the group was waiting. Jumping out of the car, he tried to explain what was going on as the boys gathered around in curiosity.

"You have to do something Lay-" he was saying, waving his arms in a panic, "I think she broke a rib-". Walking over to the car calmly, he leaned over her, lifting up her shirt just enough to see her stomach. Laying his hands over her skin, he shut his eyes, the boys falling into a dead hush. Her face slowly changed from pained to passive, breathing normalizing. As soon as he was done, Lay took a deep breath, wiping his brow and standing back up.

"It was just a cracked rib, and I think a few minor burns." Sitting up as well, Y/N stretched her arms, flitting her fingers over her side.

"Thank you, Lay. That's way better..."

"This is why I didn't want you doing these!" Suho said, tone nearing that of a strict parent. "How am I supposed to live with myself if you get hurt?" She knew he was trying to be nice, he was just looking out for her, and seeing her get hurt was making him crazy. Still, she wasn't quite over his savior complex. Pulling out her phone, she simply said,

"Too bad."