SKYE DIDN'T FREQUENTLY CONSIDER HERSELF TO BE DRAMATIC. okay, that was a lie. she knew very well that she was almost as dramatic as they came, and that she'd most definitely gotten it from her father. however, she was going to continue holding her newfound grudge.
bradley (rooster, whatever) was now attempting to remain on good terms with her. considering how much she'd wanted to be friends with him again before, she'd assumed that this would make her happy. instead, skye was only annoyed.
why was it that he'd ignored her for years in the naval academy only to then pretend nothing had happened?
on the night before their first day at top gun, skye had managed to convince katia to go to the hard deck. the bar was known for being the place to go if you were in the navy, and they weren't surprised when they saw multiple groups of people (some of whom had known each other from their own respective squadrons) in uniform.
skye ordered a beer for both girls before making her way over to the pool table, where a group of men stood. they all seemed to raise their eyebrows as they noticed the two women.
"what do we have here?" one of the guys in the background asked, making both girls roll their eyes.
another women then got up from her spot on a table. "finally, i'm not alone." she said, walking over to them. "i'm natasha trace, callsign phoenix."
skye took her outstretched hand. "skye mitchell, callsign riot. this is katia kazansky, my wso, callsign havoc."
phoenix smiled, raising an impressed brow. "mitchell and kazansky? you two are things of legend."
this made katia laugh. "mitchell and kazansky in the flesh." she confirmed, bringing her beer up to her lips. "so are you guys all headed to mirimar too?"
"yeah," phoenix nodded, "me and those guys over there," she gestured to a group of three, "all came from the same squadron. that's my backseater, fang, and my buddies fanboy and payback."
almost immediately, the three men made their way over to the three women. "making new friends, phe?" fanboy asked, an easy smile on his lips.
she nodded. "this is skye mitchell and katia kazansky."
fang raised a brow, almost in the same way phoenix had. "mitchell and kazansky?"
skye chuckled. "are you guys all going to be this surprised to hear our last names?"
payback laughed. "no, man, i mean.. it's just crazy. both of your dads were something of legends around these parts."
the brunette nodded. "yeah, so i've been told for the past twenty-three years."
phoenix tilted her head. "fair enough. hey, what do you all say to a round of 8-ball?" she grabbed a pool stick, handing another one to both women. "kazansky, you can break it."
katia started the game, and she and skye were honestly beating everyone's asses for a while when another man showed up, a smirk on his lips.
"who might you all be?" he asked, and the way phoenix almost stiffened made skye know that he must've been in her squadron as well.
she turned around. "skye mitchell, you can call me riot."
he had a toothpick between his teeth, and he shifted it from the left side of his mouth to the right, a smile still on his face. "i'm jake seresin, you can call me hangman."
skye raised a brow. "like the game?"
"the one and only." he confirmed, moving so that one of his arms was on the side of the pool table, dangerously close to her body.
"nice meeting you." she said, her face void of any emotion.
he didn't seem to take the hint, though, and kept smiling. "nice to meet you, too." he then turned to the woman next to her. "hey, phoenix."
she gave him a tight lipped smile. "hey, bag man."
"hangman." he corrected.
phoenix tilted her head. "whatever."
the two got back to their game, groaning as they saw that katia had scored three more for herself while they'd been distracted. they were completely focused on winning when rooster walked in, and skye honestly probably wouldn't have noticed him if he hadn't walked up next to her.
"you're too far right." he said, nearly making her jump.
"what?"
"your shot." he explained. "you're gonna hit the ball too far to the right and then it won't hit the other one."
skye rolled her eyes, moving her cue stick back enough that it hit him straight in the gut, watching as she successfully got the yellow ball into the basket. "what was that?" she then feigned ignorance, turning around to face him.
bradley was then slightly hunched over, holding a hand to his stomach. "jeez, skye, not happy to see me?"
she smiled. "i wouldn't say that."
"what would you say then?" he smiled, taking his sunglasses off.
"that i'm still mad at you." she replied, walking away to get herself another beer.
he followed her to the bar, his brows furrowed in confusion. "why are you mad at me?" he asked, laughing to himself.
skye took a bar from the bartender's hand before looking back at him. "your outfit is tacky." she answered, looking at his white tank top and blue hawaiian shirt.
bradley gasped. "wow, low blow." he followed her back to the group, putting a hand on her shoulder. "seriously, are you upset with me?"
she gave him a look. how could he possibly not know why she was upset with him? "you ignored me for four years, yeah, i think i'm kinda upset about you now acting like i owe you friendship or something."
"skye, i..." he seemed at a loss for words, which was probably a first for him. "i wasn't trying to ignore you, okay, i was just-"
"you know, we really don't have to talk about it." she replied, putting her hands in the air. "if you want to be good then fine, we're good."
he frowned. "you know, something about the way you said that makes me feel like it isn't true."
she shrugged. "we're good."
rooster kept looking down at her for a few moments before his eyes seemed to light up with an idea.
"what?" she asked, noticing the gleam in his eye. "what?"
he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him to the jukebox. he pulled the chord of it, and skye apologized on his behalf as the entire bar collectively groaned. less than a second later, bradley was sitting by the piano, and she made her way over to him.
"what is this, what are you doing?"
he shrugged his shoulders. "old time's sake, right?" he asked, a devilish smile on his face as he lowered his sunglasses back onto his face. "what's on the setlist for tonight, miss riot?"
skye rolled her eyes. "i don't know. play whatever is currently speaking to you in your soul."
bradley smiled, and wasted no time in beginning to play the piano. "just take those old records off the shelf," he belted, making her laugh next to him, "i'll sit and listen to 'em by myself. today's music ain't got the same soul. i like that old time rock and roll." he looked over at her, patting the spot on the piano bench next to him.
with another playful roll of her eyes, skye sat down.
"don't try to take me to a disco, you'll never even get me out on the floor. in ten minutes i'll be late for the door. i like that old time, what is it skye?" he looked over his glasses at her.
"that old time rock and roll." she replied, laughing to herself.
he nodded. "oh yeah! that old time rock and roll. the kind of music just..?"
"soothes the soul." skye finished for him.
"i reminisce about the..?"
"days of old."
"with that old time rock and roll." they sang together, both laughing now. at this point the rest of the pilots had gathered around them, and they all began to sing along until the bar had to close down.
bradley walked skye out to her motorcycle, which was leaning next to katia's. "that was fun." he said, still wearing his sunglasses despite how dark it was outside.
she smiled. "yeah."
"are you still mad at me?" he asked, a playful tone to his voice.
skye tilted her head. "yeah."
this made him laugh, and he watched as she and katia both got on their motorcycles. "i'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?"
katia nodded while skye gave him a two fingered salute, both women putting on their helmets. "see you then."
when the two arrived at their shared apartment (which just so happened to have a view of the beach), katia turned to skye. "so, did you guys get to.. have a conversation about it?"
skye furrowed her brows. "me? a conversation? no." she shook her head. "nah, man. we'll talk about it eventually. right now it's just.. not worth it, you know? we'll only make each other mad if we try to talk about anything."
"i don't think that's true." the blonde argued. "i mean, you two were so close when we were younger. i know a lot of time has passed and everything, but you both still care about each other. i don't think you should let a misunderstanding tear you apart."
"it isn't a misunderstanding, hav, he didn't talk to either of us for-"
"i know, i know." she cut her off. "but maybe there was a reasoning for it in his mind. i think if you talked to him about it, you could finally figure it out. then you wouldn't have to be mad at him anymore."
skye sighed. "i know. i know you're right. i just.. don't want to. not yet anyway."
katia laughed. "okay, fine. but you're going to have to talk to him at some point."
she nodded. "yeah, but not today." she stretched her shoulders over her head. "night."
in all honestly, she didn't think she could ever truly stay mad at bradley. he'd been such an important part of her life for so long, and having him standing in front of her made it so difficult to be upset with him, even moreso when he seemed so clueless about it.
but, as skye lay on her bed thinking about it, that was even more frustrating. why was he pretending to have no idea why she was mad at him?
she decided she was just going to have to listen to katia, as it was always wise of her to do, and talk to him about it. but there was no harm in holding a grudge a little while longer, was there?
grudges aside, he sat behind her and katia on the next day at top gun. being the only two sent to miramar from their squadron, the two women rightfully had confidence oozing from their posture to their hair. skye was leaned back in her seat, yet her posture was still impeccable from all of her time in the academy. she spun her pen around between her fingers as a three star vice admiral walked to the front of the group.
"attention on deck!" a voice sounded, and the group all stood immediately, giving the man a salute.
at his order, the group all sat down, and skye eased back into her comfortable pen flipping.
"ladies and gentlemen." he began. "you are the top one percent of all naval aviators. the elite. the best of the best." he looked among the group. "we'll make you better. you'll fly at least two combat missions a day, attend classes in between and evaluations of your performance. now, on each combat sequence, you're going to meet a different challenge. every encounter is gonna be much more difficult."
katia turned to skye. "we're in the big leagues now."
"we're gonna teach you to fly the f-18 right to the edge of the envelope, faster than you've ever flown before and more dangerous. now, we don't make policy here. elected officials, civilians do that. we are the instruments of that policy. and although we're not at war, we must always act as though we are at war."
he was silent for a moment before he continued. "in case some of you wonder who the best is, they're up here on this plaque on the wall." he gestured behind him. "the best driver and his, or her, wso from each class has their name on it. and they have the option to come back here to be top gun instructors."
skye smiled as she looked to the wall, recognizing the names of multiple of the men listed on it. she and katia were going to be the first two women to have a spot on the wall.
"you think your name's gonna be on that plaque?" the admiral asked skye, who was still focused on the wall.
she smirked. "yes, sir."
he nodded. "that's pretty arrogant, don't you think?"
her head titled. "yes, sir."
"i like that in a pilot." he deadpanned, making the entire room go silent. "wipe that smirk off your face, lieutenant mitchell." he ordered her, though he was smiling himself at her pure audacity.
skye wiped a hand in front of her face as if she was removing makeup, but her smirk didn't seem to falter.
"just remember, when it's over out there, we're all on the same team." the admiral then addressed the full group. "ladies and gentlemen, this school is about combat. there are no points for second place." he scanned the group. "dismissed."
katia got to her feet almost immediately. "day one and already you're making us stand out."
skye shrugged her shoulders. "standing out isn't necessarily a bad thing, hav."
"yeah, but it is if we want to avoid getting kicked out."
the girl stood up. "kat, our names are gonna be the first women up on that wall." she said, pointing to the plaques. "there isn't any shame in knowing that already, i don't think."
katia tilted her head. "okay. let's just try not to get canned on the first day, alright?"
skye smiled. "sure thing."