(I'm trying really hard to get choices b and c out this weekend because this week at school is gonna be pretty chaotic, so fair warning, updates will probably be coming out on weekends now, simply because I have minimal time during the week. I'm actually kinda proud of this chapter, just because I wasn't quite sure how to write it, and pulled it off pretty well. This might be a lot of repeat from the Penny chapter, but I can't really avoid that)
Your POV
"Buggs, you little shit, you're coming with me."
You snapped. Kid looked aghast.
"WHAT?"
Buggs rolled his eyes and stomped over.
In an attempt to avoid arguing with Kid over your choice of partner, you shouted
"BYE!"
And pulled Buggs with you out the door. You slammed the door behind you with such force you were mildly surprised it didn't fall off the hinges.
You laughed awkwardly.
"Let's go?"
He rolled his eyes again, and walked away.
"I doubt you know where you're going!"
You called after him. He stopped, and came stomping right back, not looking at you.
"Just by the way, we're going right."
You said, crossing your arms. He made a noise that sounded like a cross between a snort and a sigh. The two of you set off, neither looking at the other.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Buggs coughed.
"So. Uh, (Y/N), right?"
You looked at him.
"Yep. That's me. What's up?"
He made another cough noise.
"Uh, why did you pick me?"
You sighed.
"Because I'd rather you didn't strangle Nugget-"
He sighed.
"-and I'd rather he didn't poison you."
You finished. He paused.
"Oh. Cool, I guess."
Another silence.
"Uh......"
What he said next both surprised you, and seemed like it caused him physical pain to say it.
"You'reprettycoolyouknow."
You blinked.
"What?"
He flushed.
"I mean tough. You're pretty tough, I guess."
You smiled.
"Thanks."
"For a girl, I mean."
He snapped. You raised your eyebrows.
"You say to the girl who beat your ass on the first day."
You quipped. He went slightly redder.
"Shut up!"
You laughed.
"B-besides, you probably aren't so scary now that you can't use a fucking arm!"
He bit back, barely concealing his stutter. You shrugged.
"It is what it is."
You were both quiet.
"You know Buggs, you're pretty cool yourself. Y'know, for a boy."
He snorted.
"I bet I could deck you right here if I wanted to."
You grinned, and swung an arm around him, making him flush.
"But'cha won't, will you?"
"Keep doing.....that, an' maybe I will!"
You faked innocence.
"Doing what?"
He seemed to grasp for words.
"T-That! That you're doing!"
He said in a strangled voice.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Time Skip
It wasn't long before you saw the treehouse ahead of you.
"Well, here we go."
You said, eyes glued to the treehouse. You remembered several careless afternoons here, without worries or fears of being hunted down.
Maybe there can be more.
Maybe, just maybe, there was somewhere in your future that involved hanging out in the treehouse you saw in front of you, friends new and old alike playing games without pain, or anxiousness, or betrayal (I still doubt it).
In your peripheral vision, you could see Buggs watching you, probably waiting for you to make the next move. A bubble of nervousness began to grow in your stomach.
"Here we go."
You repeated, if only to convince yourself that yes, in fact, here we go, and we will not curl up in a ball and weep.
You took a few steps forwards, and began your ascent of the rope ladder. You felt it sway and shake as Buggs followed, and clung tighter to the ropes. He and you combined might be a little bit too heavy for the rope ladder, but really, it wasn't that high up, not really, but it would still probably break one of your oh so necessary bones, and that was not something that would aid your already low chance of success.
Your feet faltered on the rope, and you suddenly felt yourself dangle precariously around 9 feet in the air, only holding on by your hands. You suppressed a scream.
I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine.
You saw Buggs, a couple rungs beneath you, watching you. You doubted he'd be able to catch you if you fell. He was strong enough, in theory, but not quite agile enough to be able to catch you in practice.
Your determination building, you swung your legs back onto the ropes.
You took a deep breath. Sure it was going to be harder than last time. You only had one fully functional arm, after all. But was that going to stop you? Well, maybe, but you were going to try anyways!
You looked up to see the entrance to the rickety building close. You grinned. It was working. You moved faster. You swung your arms onto the platform, and hoisted yourself up, and-
"WAIT!"
Were promptly beaned in the head with a rock.
You went tumbling back out of the treehouse, before a hand came out after you, and dragged you back in.
You looked up to see Astrid, your arm still clenched in her hand.
"Goddamnit Maeve!"
Someone shouted.
"Look what you did! You just smacked (Y/N)! The hell is wrong with you?"
Ah, there it is. That's Theresa.
"Well yOu were the one that said throw the rock if anybody's coming in, bitch!"
Yes, and that was Maeve.
"Yeah, and I also said 'WAIT'."
Theresa snapped, before turning to you with a conspiratorial look.
"Missed ya', dude. Had to deal with these dumbasses on my own."
You smiled shakily.
"I've, uh, had some dumbasses to look after too."
"Yeah, fuck you too, (Y/N)."
Buggs puffed.
You had thought about what you would say when you got here, but now it evaded you.
"Uh, Theresa, guys, this is Buggs, one of the previously mentioned dumbasses. Penny, these are some of my friends."
Buggs snorted.
"So this is who we have so much trust in?"
You didn't respond, but Theresa laughed.
"Damn, (Y/N), never knew that was your type."
That caught you by surprise.
"What?"
You said, a little incredulously. Your 'type' was not the subject of conversation.
"I mean, you guys are dating right?"
Your throat dried up. Buggs made a strangled noise.
"I-I don't!-I mean-oh my god, Theresa-"
You stuttered. She smirked.
"So, I'll take that as a 'yes, and we are very much in love, but bad at expressing our feelings, and the actual asking out part'."
You cleared your throat.
"So! I need your help with something!"
You interrupted, trying to divert the conversation subject.
"Th-"
"Guys in suits?"
Freya asked. You paused.
"Yeah, actually. How did you know?"
You asked, confused.
"You aren't the only one they want."
Theresa laughed mirthlessly.
"They're trying to erase you. Make sure no trace of you is ever found again. You learned a little too much, and now you have to die."
Your heart dropped.
"How would you know?"
You said, trying to keep the waver out of your voice.
"It's just common sense. Listen, so imagine you're a shady rich dude. You're doing your shady shit and all of a sudden some kid comes along and figures it out. So what do you do?"
The answer was obvious. You kill the kid, and everyone they might have told. You erase them. Make it like they never existed. Remove the parent, remove the confidants, remove the person completely.
"Theresa watches a lot of kickass crime TV shows."
Maeve groaned.
"And she gets really insufferable when she knows shit."
Theresa shrugged.
"Maeve gets really insufferable when I know more than she does, so that might be a factor too."
You choked out a laugh. It was surprising that even though the situation was so dire, your dumbass friends could still laugh and joke.
"I need your help to save my mom."
You said. Theresa grinned.
"Any time, amiga."
Time skip (yes, again)
Your friends gathered themselves quickly, and the group of you exited the treehouse, an awkward silence between you and Buggs, who seemed determined not to make eye contact ith you.
Theresa stretched, and gave you a cocky smile.
"Alright! Time to go do some hero-ing shit!"
"Not quite."
You whirled, to see the men in black, each with guns pointed at you.
"Any of you scream, and we will shoot."
Theresa paled. You'd never seen your friend look so terrified.
"H-how would-how would you explain that? A bunch of kids just-just dying?"
Theresa managed. The one who seemed to do the talking smiled nastily at her.
"Accidents happen. This isn't the safest of neighbourhoods, after all."
You thought fast. How many could you get out alive. Who had to die for the rest to live.
In the books you read, the heroines were selfless, and would gladly die for their teammates, but now that it came don to it, you felt a shiver go through your core.
I don't want to die.
No matter which way you thought about it, there was no way around it. You did not want to die for your friends. You loved them, but you wanted to live to see another sunrise, to see Waffle again, to tell your mother you loved her......so many things you had to live for.
"How did you find us?"
You said instead, surprised at how calm your voice was.
Two of the men stepped to the side to reveal a nervous face.
"Damien?"
You cried. He wouldn't look you in the eyes.
"I'm...sorry, (N/N). They are.....rather persuasive."
He murmured. Theresa hissed behind you.
"Once a traitor, always a traitor."
She spat.
"Selling us out."
"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"
Buggs screamed.
You felt a pain in your chest. You looked down, expecting to see a bullet wound, but found none. The pain of betrayal. One you knew far too well.
"I hope you and your pathetic family live out the rest of your miserable lives in fucking comfort, Damien."
You said coldly, trying to hold back the tears. The apparent leader handed Damien a thick envelope.
"Good work, kid. Y'even found their base."
He said dismissively. Damien looked up at you once, before darting off with his money.
Coward.
It made terrible sense now. Why waste assets on trying to hunt down the one you need when you can send an inside man to wait until they're out in the open, helpless.
Of course.
The leader nudged you with his gun.
"Let's go. The cars over there."
He snarled, gesturing at a set of town cars on the other side of the road.
They weren't killing you yet. Another breath to take, another minute alive.
You made eye contact with Buggs for the first time since your exit of the treehouse. He looked terrified, with fake confidence plastered over it. You looked at the woman pointing the gun at him. She gave you a meaningful look, and lowered her gun from Buggs' head.
"Move it."
Your guard said, nudging your forwards with the barrel of his gun. You'd started lagging behind.
Buggs' guard was staring you down, and mouthed something.
He won't go.
Of course. Stupid, heroic, determined Buggs didn't have a surrendering bone in his body. Even if it might be life or death.
You met his eyes, with a pained look on your face.
Run.
You mouthed. He stared at you.
Run?
You nodded. He gave you an antagonized look, then looked up at his guard. The guard nodded down at him. Buggs gave you one long look, and then ran.
His guard looked at you, and smiled sadly. It was then that you noticed her hair.
It was very distinctive. The hair color only two other people you knew had. Ted and Felix.
Mrs Huxley.
She nodded at you, as if affirming your thoughts.
There was nothing you could do now. Your fate was in Mrs Huxley's hands. Why she was helping you, you didn't know, but for now all you could do was hope.
You didn't fight after that. You let them lead you to their cars with no resistance, and entered without pushback. As you watched the world pass by you from the car window, you wondered where Buggs was.