I made my way to the firing range, I was told that whoever will be training me would be waiting there. I couldn't lie, I was nervous about this whole thing. I only agreed so I could help my family out with our money problems. If it weren't for that, I would've declined as I had zero combat training.
I squinted my eyes, "Elliott...?" He turned to look at me, "You're my trainer?" I asked as I pointed my finger at him.
"Me? Oh, no." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm just h-here t-to watch."
I looked behind him and my eyes landed on Anita who had been focused on aiming her sentinel.
She stayed completely still, only breathing ever so slightly. It was quiet for a few moments before a loud gunshot went off and she had landed her shot right in the center of the target. She put the sniper back onto the rack before approaching me.
Okay, if Bangalore of all people is my trainer, I might actually stand a chance in the arena
"Alright, here's the deal. I'm going to teach you how to aim, shoot while moving and utilizing the environment around you as cover. You don't shoot unless I say so. Are we clear?" She told me.
I knew she was a bit of a hard ass but god damn, can't I catch a break?
I quickly nodded in response and she took a step back, smirking. "Good."
She went back to the weapon rack and I followed close behind. She scanned the variety of weapons as she was in deep thought deciding on which one I should use.
She then pointed at one, "Alright, Y/N. Go grab the R-301."
I walked towards the rack and picked up the gun, it was much heavier than I had thought.
"Now I want you to pick up the 2x optic right next to it."
I attached the optic to the weapon then went to stand next to her.
"Now aim down your sights and try your best to shoot the center of that target." Anita pointed at the dummy straight ahead from us.
I closed one eye and held the gun up to line the sight to the center of the target. My hands were a bit shaky and it was difficult to aim. I held my breath and lined up my target. Once I lined them up, I squeezed the trigger.
Anita looked ahead to see where my shot landed. "You didn't hit the bullseye but hey, at least you hit the target. Not bad, kid."
We spent the next few hours trying out different weapons for different situations. On one hand, I felt my aim drastically improved. On the other, I learned a valuable lesson that I should never get my hands on a sniper, ever. Poor Elliott is lucky I couldn't aim with it.
"Alright, the last thing we're going to do today is 1v1." Anita said.
"Won't I get hurt?" I asked, concerned.
She shook her head, "1v1's in here work just like in the arena. We don't actually get hurt." She informed me.
That relieved me a bit and I agreed to do the 1v1. I knew I'd likely lose but hey, it was worth a try.
"Alright go pick out your loadout and grab a blue shield. I'll meet you over there." She said as she showed me where the 1v1 will take place.
I went over to the weapons rack. I already knew which guns I wanted. Flatline and a peacekeeper were my best weapons so far. I had trouble controlling smg's and I already knew how it'd go if I tried my hand at a sniper. This was my best bet. I grabbed the guns and met up with Anita. We decided it'd be best we start at opposite sides.
She went to her side and I took a deep breath as Elliott stood on the outside. He was in charge of keeping track of everything and to make sure nothing bad happens.
"On the count of th-three!" Elliott shouted.
My heart raced in my chest, this was a form of adrenaline I had never felt before. At least not since that night Tavi and I were in that car. That was one of the first nights we spent together.
Okay, focus. Don't get distracted!
"3..."
Shit! I'm nervous
"2..."
Just breathe
"1..."
I can do this
"GO!!!" Elliott shouted and I felt panic rush over me. "Good luck, Y/N!"
I anxiously looked to my left and right. Anita told me everything I'd need to know but actually putting it into practice is the hard part. I ducked behind cover and listened for her foot steps. It sounded like she was on my left.
I climbed up on the ledge to try to get the higher ground. In the blink of an eye, I was shot and downed. I grabbed my chest as I laid on the ground. That hurt.
"Lesson number one. I can hear you just like you can hear me. Be more unpredictable. Lesson two. Never stand in the open. Makes you easy target practice." Anita said sternly. "Now get up, let's try again."
I stayed still for a few more moments before Anita asked, "Hey, Y/N. You alright? We can take a break if you need to."
I shook my head and struggled to get on my feet. I was determined to do well today. I desperately needed the training if I didn't want to be the first to go on game day. That'd just be embarrassing, especially with the reputation I already had with the fans.
Elliott initiated the countdown once again and I looked around at my options to come up with a better game plan this time.
"GO!!!" He yelled once again.
This time I paid more attention to my hearing. I could hear her approaching to my left, so I went around to the right. She was attempting to catch me off guard and I wanted to do the same.
I approached her from behind and landed a couple peacekeeper shots into her before she backed up into cover. I took the chance to push and was able to down her this time.
"That was a lot better. Good job, kid."
I extended my hand to help her back up.
"Nice one, Y/N!" Elliott cheered.
"Be sure to get some rest, we're going to do this again. Same time tomorrow." Anita told me.
I nodded and thanked her for her help, I already felt like I improved a lot since we started. We made sure to put everything back before leaving the firing range.
*
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"Yeah! And on the second time I was able to knock her down!" I cheerfully told Tavi as I sat on the foot of his hospital bed.
I had told him everything about me participating in the games and Bangalore of all people being my trainer. She was a lot nicer than I expected, to be honest. I told him how amazing it felt to improve so quickly.
"You're gonna kick ass, Y/N." Tavi said, in attempt to hype me up.
I chuckled, "Definitely not but I'll try my best."
"You know...I wish I could be out there with you. I'd love to have you on my team." He smiled at me.
"Maybe someday, right?" I joked. I knew this was just a one time ordeal.
He laughed too before he suddenly had a serious look on his face.
"Hey, Y/N?"
"Hm?" I hummed, looking at him.
"I know it's been rough between us..." He reached to grab my hand. "But I want to make it up to you. I want to do something nice for you once I'm out of here."
My heart rate sped up and warmth rushed to my cheeks as he stroked my hand gently with his thumb. I missed his touch. No matter how long we're together or what we go through, he can't ever stop making me feel this way.
"I'd love that." I answered.
"When you win the game, I'm taking you out to dinner."
"But Tavi, I might no-"
"Shh!" He interrupted me. "Just try your best. Even if you don't win, I'm still taking you out. Because your best is still good enough for me."
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him. I could hear his heart race as I rested my head on his chest and his arms wrapped around me. Even in a cold hospital, his embrace kept me warm. I truly felt like I was at home as long as he was with me.
"I love you, Y/N." Tavi whispered softly, barely loud enough for me to catch it.
A smile crept on my face, "I love you too."
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A/N: Hey all, it's been awhile...again. I just want to thank everyone for the sweet comments. You guys are the reason I still update. Life has been a little better lately, I'm finally getting the help I need. So I'm hoping I'll have motivation to update more often and to eventually wrap this story up. Don't worry, there's still more to come before that happens. Even when this story is over I'm hoping to write more. Whether it's about Octane or someone else, who knows. But thanks for sticking around for all this time. It means the world to me, genuinely.
Anyways, see you next time. xoxo