Abby often wondered just how she let you talk her into these chaotic situations. She would like to blame it on your persuasive tone but in reality, it was probably just the way your eyes seemed to light up and how your lips always curved into a smile when she agreed. She really needed to work on saying no to you, this was absolutely bizarre. How in the hell had she allowed you to get her on the top of an abandoned bridge?
"Is it your plan to make me have a stroke?" She questioned after you, shaking hands gripping the support rail firmly next to her. She had somehow almost made it to the viewing platform of the bridge but you still had another row of some not-so-sturdy looking steps to get up.
You tossed a glance over your shoulder at her, the Firefly tag around your neck making small chimes as you did so. A sympathetic smile curved over your lips, one that Abby caught notice of, and you slowed your pace to allow her to climb next to you. With a small nudge you offered her your hand, enclosing it around her own and squeezing for support. "I promise it'll be worth the climb, you can do this."
Abby swallowed the lump in her throat, shaking off whatever nerves were plaguing her and slowly followed you up the remainder of steps. She'd been working on conquering this fear of heights for awhile now, little by little of course, and slowly but surely she was getting there. Lev would always be credited for the head start by making her cross the Seraphite bridge back in Seattle but you were a pretty close second. Sometimes you'd gradually introduce her to higher places and let her adjust to the setting for a few minutes before allowing her to go down. Though, you never forced her into doing something she couldn't handle. You'd only been up to the operation room once in the entire time you'd been with the Fireflies so far, that was one you wouldn't be pushing on her to do.
After a few more steps Abby finally felt solid concrete underneath her boots and sighed in relief. She'd made the climb, the hardest part was over. At least until it was time to go back down, she damned you for talking her into this. Despite that, Abby still followed you over to a pair of chairs seated beside the overlook and took the open one, facing away from the view below. She took notice of the stray plastic pumpkins decorating the setup, some straw scattered around them in attempts of making a pumpkin patch.
"So, what's so cool up here?" She questioned, drawing in a breath of fresh air. It was cool and clean from the high point you were currently sitting at, not smoggy and dusty from the collapsing buildings.
You stood, crossing to the overlook and resting your upper body on the railing. You came here often, for peace, for quiet and whenever you needed a break from the world you'd grown up in. A waterway laid some distance in front of you, train tracks weaving over it in different sections. The trees were slowly losing their leaves, those that remained were painted in bright orange and red. Fall was absolutely dreamy, you could only imagine how it was before the outbreak when people, so you'd read, carved pumpkins and gave out candy one night of the year while kids dressed in costumes.
"It's a nice view, you gotta admit that."
Abby hesitated for a moment, shortly after standing up to lean next to you. It took a moment to adjust to the sight below, it seemed so high, but she did see your point. It was a nice view, she could see why you snuck off here so much. Maybe she should've taken up your offer to join sooner, this was her first time accompanying you to your spot.
"Yeah, it's pretty nice," She agreed, though her eyes were trailing to look at your features from the side. Your hair gently moving about in the wisps of Autumn air, the Firefly jacket securely wrapped around your shoulders and the peaceful expression on your face. In Abby's opinion, you shouldn't ever look any other way than the way you did then. Of course, she'd only ever told you such a flirty comment once prior and you thought she was joking. Abby sighed, tucking a strand of her hair-which had finally grown out to her shoulders-behind her ear.
"What's wrong?" You wondered. Though, your eyes only peeled away from the scenery in front of you to glance at her when she didn't immediately respond. She glanced over to meet your gaze, shrugging and replacing her confused look with a lopsided smile. You rolled your eyes in a teasing manner, "C'mon, you can't hold out on me now. What's up?"
She chewed her lip in thought, debating the thoughts in her head. Was it worth confessing when she had such a good friendship with you already? What if you didn't like her like that? Though, she was certain she'd seen you having little nighttime sessions with other female Fireflies when she first arrived with Lev. Her dad would encourage her to tell you, to get it out of her system at the very least.
"Okay." She murmured, turning to stare down at the waterway below. Abby was never shy, it wasn't in her nature to be shy, but something about this entire topic made her cheeks burn and her head swirl with rejection. She didn't want you to think she was using you to get over Owen, too. Everything was such a wrong timing thing but here you were, a light shiver radiating over your arms every now and again despite the jacket and eyes drawn directly onto her.
She scratched at her palm for no evident reason other than to stall time, but by the way you were staring at her she'd have to confess soon. "For the longest time now, maybe since I saw you swearing at a fallen box of supplies-" She paused to listen to you laugh. "I've sort of liked you in a way that wasn't a friendship way?"
A moment of silence overtook the space between you, the only sound being that of the wind breezing by and the sound of clickers somewhere in the distance. Abby swallowed nervously at your silence, you were always so outspoken with her. Silence didn't seem like a good sign. From the corner of her eyes she could see your fingers mindlessly picking at the sleeves of the olive green jacket covering your arms but she didn't dare look at your face.
At least until the silence got the best of her. You were still staring at her, an unreadable expression laced over your features that bothered her even more. She knew she shouldn't have opened her mouth. Abby sighed, trying her best to sound irritated when she spoke. "Can you not stare at me like I've offended your bloodline? I shouldn't have said anything and-"
You furrowed your brows in confusion, moving a palm to rest over her own. "You haven't trembled about the height in the past few minutes, that's a good sign." A smile cracked over your lips, earning a slightly confused look from Abby. "I didn't know you felt like that about me, I feel kinda shitty now for seeing that medical chick last weekend."
Abby couldn't help but nod in a playful manner, nudging your shoulder. A laugh passed her lips at your words. "Yeah that was kinda fucked up, I kept wondering who the hell Maya is."
"You haven't even met Maya? That's even worse." You chuckled, shuffling until your arms pressed against her own. She turned to meet your gaze, smiling at your goofy smile. "I'm actually feeling kind of buzzed, my ego is bursting at the fact that one of the top Firefly kids likes me. You shouldn't have told me."
"Oh no, I take it back, Y/N."
She laughed at your hand smacking her shoulder, covering the smile over her lips with a hand. You didn't seem mad, in fact you seemed kind of happy, despite the joke. Her thoughts seemed to be answered when you spoke once more,
"I guess no more Maya."
Abby furrowed her brows in confusion, staring at you with an equal expression. "What'd you mean?"
You shrugged, leaning close to rest your chin on her shoulder. "Well I mean you like me, it'd be kind of shitty for me to have a midnight meeting with her if I have a girlfriend." Your casual tone baffled Abby, how easily you could make her go from nervous about the whole situation to laughing.
"Your girlfriend?" She questioned, a smug look resting over her features. Abby might have to label this as her favorite spot too. She chewed at her lip once again, waiting on your response.
You nodded, shifting to sit on the edge of the overlook, legs kicking back and forth in a childish manner. The cocky smile left your lips moments later, turning into something more serious. "Unless you didn't mean that type of liking. Which is cool, I mean it would suck if you just meant hooking up from time to time, but girlfriend would be really great too." You rambled, making Abby grin sheepishly.
That was the thing about you. You could go from playful to serious when you needed to, you were always the most reliable person when she needed someone to talk to. Probably the reason you were considered a good person to talk to around base, most everyone came to you with their problems.
She rolled her eyes and poked your thigh, careful to not knock you off your balance with the way you were sitting now. She couldn't believe she'd completely forgotten about the height of the bridge during this. "Obviously I meant in a girlfriend type of way." She explained.
You laughed steadily, easing your way down from the railing and to pick your bag up from the concrete. It would be dark soon and as much as you enjoyed your little spot of solitude, infected often trailed near it during the night hours. Abby followed suit behind you, shouldering her bag and coming to stand next to you.
"Ready to head back? Lev will be missing you." You stated, extending a hand in offering to her. She took it after a moment, feeling something metal touch the softness of her palm. She turned it over, surprised to see a Firefly pendant with her last name carved over it.
"What's this?" She wondered, though she knew. It was an old pendant, the edges were starting to peak with tiny fragments of rust from the rain. She knew exactly who this belonged to.
You smiled softly, turning to face her once more. "I found it the other day cleaning up in the upper floors, I figured you should have it." A shaky breath left her lungs as she further examined the object you'd given her. In bold letters she could make out 'JERRY ANDERSON.' Abby may not have always made the best calls, but she was certain she'd made the right call on you.
"Thanks, Y/N." She laughed in relief, happy to have a possession of his again. She followed you down the stairs, not afraid of the height because she could focus on the curve of your lips and the way your hand fit in hers-in such a different way this time. "My dad would have loved you."
"Well, I think our shared love of you would have bonded us."
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˖ refrain from commenting hateful things about abby on anything related to her in this book. your comment will be deleted because i'm not tolerating the excessive hate on her any longer, especially not in my book.
࿔ rhae ♡