All Things Nice » Band of Brothers

10: Similar

Honestly, she didn't know what she had expected, but as she followed Bull further into the chaos she felt her heart ache. Here was America, an ocean away from the war that had torn her life apart. And whilst in Britain they'd been starving and frightened and mourning, this is what it had been like for the Yanks. Not for the first time, she felt resentment for them bubbling up in her heart, regardless of how she tried to push it down. It wasn't an uncommon opinion back in Europe that the Americans had taken too long in entering the war, just like they'd done in the last lot, though now Posey was seeing for herself what life was still like in the New World that it hadn't been for years in Europe, she felt that bitterness renewed. She knew that when she got back home her family would think her insane for wanting to escape such blissful ignorance, but in that moment she didn't want a thing to do with America.

Posey managed to slip between a couple standing to her right and circled back the way she'd just come, briskly on her way to the door. She felt rather than saw the confused glances being shot her way by the men of her platoon but ignored them, trying to stuff anger and sorrow and longing all back down before she made a scene.

The gentle breeze of the darkening night was what she needed to calm down. Only once outside and leaning against the brick of the building did she feel like she could breathe. She focused on taking slow, deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth, until she felt the sting of tears dissipate. The anger remained, though, and the longing, though these were things she found she could never truly escape from.

She spent a while outside, breathing in the humidity and attempting to exhale any lingering traces of resentment for the men she was just beginning to think of as friends. In all honesty, she knew it wasn't their fault; they weren't to blame for Britain's rationing, or the Blitz, or the war, and even if they were a few years late, they were here because they were training to help. Her anger, really, wasn't at them but at the universe for putting her in this position. As she pushed back into the chaos of the bar, she tried to hold onto that.

"Hey! Wells!" Luz called out as he caught sight of her pushing her way through the crowd. Posey looked up immediately and offered a smile. As soon as she was close enough that he didn't have to scream at the top of his lungs, Luz added, "You alright?"

Posey smiled and offered a nod. "Yeah. Just needed some air."

"What, you never been to a bar before?" Guarnere cut in from the opposite side of the table. When she looked over to him, he was wearing a smug smirk. How readily Posey could've punched it right off his face.

"Have you?" she shot back, narrowing her eyes. She didn't wait for an answer, turning on her heel and heading straight to the bar; she'd need some alcohol if she wanted to get through the rest of the night without ripping someone's head off.

When she returned she found the men at Luz's table had managed to wrangle a chair for her, and she slid in between Skip and Luz with a grateful smile. She tried to take her first sip of beer inconspicuously, though the face she made at the taste couldn't be helped. But at least she hadn't vomited.

"Hey, Wells," Luz said again. She found him grinning when she peeled her eyes open. "How old are you?"

Posey felt a traitorous blush spreading across her pale cheeks, the heat spreading to the tips of her ears. She coughed awkwardly into her fist before muttering, "Eighteen."

"What?"

"Eighteen," she said louder, internally groaning at the ribbing she was no doubt about to receive.

"This your first ever drink?"

In response, she rested her elbows on the table and dropped her head into her hands. "Let me die."