WARNINGS: swearing, smut.
Three months later...
This is Day 86 of living with Ally and Jaha. I'm not gonna lie, the food is amazing. That must be my favourite part about the mess I'm in. Ally wants me to take some kind of chip. She got Jaha to take it and now he's acting strange. I'd be lying if I said I haven't tried to kill him a couple of times. John said that I could do it when we're alone and out of Camp Jaha.
Every day I ask Ally to let me out and find John and every day she tells me that he'll be here soon. I don't believe her in the slightest but there's no way out of here. And I've tried every way. The windows, the doors, the walls. She's caught me before every single attempt.
Now I'm playing piano. There's really nothing else to do here other than eat or practice fighting in the enormous backyard or attempt escaping or attempt murdering Jaha and I'm stuffed from breakfast. Ally gave me some sheet music to work on. It's all a little complicated but I get it eventually. Now it's muscle memory for every piece she's given me. I don't need the music to read from anymore. I've memorized it all.
"You son of a bitch!!"
I stop playing at that voice. That whiney, asshole voice.
"John!?" I shout, standing and rushing into the hallway.
He looks terrible. He's skinny and his hair is greasy as ever and down to his shoulders. He looks like he's going to faint with the slightest contact.
"John," I say, moving close to him and holding either side of his face. "John, what happened to you?"
"Camari," he says roughly.
I have the overwhelming need to kiss him. Not because I miss him but because he has alcohol on his breath.
"You should sit down," I say, shaking my head.
"I'm fine," he says, shaking his head too.
"I'm getting tired of hearing that from you," I say, moving him and sitting him down on the couch I woke up on my first day here. I kneel in front of him.
"Why are you here? I told you to stay at camp," he says, frowning.
"I wasn't letting you leave me," I say, sweeping the hair from his eyes.
"Then why was I stuck in a bunker for eighty six days, Cam?" he asks.
"You were what?" I ask, leaning my face closer to his.
His lips part. "You didn't know."
"Of course not. How could you possibly think that I'd let you stay trapped in some bunker?" I ask, standing.
He sighs, looking down in shame.
"John."
I turn to the right, finding Jaha there. "Get the fuck away from him."
"I just wanna talk," Jaha says, raising his hands.
"Now you talk and lives end. Now you talk and you convince into murder. I don't want to hear anything from you, connard," I say, turning back to John.
"Since when do you speak French?" he asks.
"I learned a couple choice words while prisoner here," I say, nodding.
"Prisoner?" he says, eyes wide.
"I asked about you every day and she always told me you'd be here soon. I guess she was actually telling the truth this morning," I say, shrugging.
"She?"
"Ally."
I roll my eyes, finding her beside Jaha. "He's here now. Can we leave?"
"One second, Camari," she says, walking to the pair of us.
"She's a hologram. An A.I.," I tell John as she stands in front of him.
"Hello, John," she says. "I hope you're feeling well."
"Yeah, I'm just great," he says sarcastically.
"Why don't you have something to eat and clean yourself up. Wouldn't it be nice to shower?"
He cocks his head. "Define 'hard pass.'"
Her pupils dilate again as she turns to our left. "Hard pass: a firm rejection with no possibility of a later change of mind."
I roll my eyes again, grabbing his hand and dragging him through the kitchen. We turn a corner and go up the stairs. I drag him down the hall and into my bedroom. We go into my bathroom and I shut the door behind us. I grab the scissors from inside the cabinet mirror.
"You're letting me cut your hair and this isn't a discussion," I say, sitting him down.
"Fine by me," he says, sighing.
I start quickly, cutting it short because it looks better that way. "Why did you write that note?"
He sighs, dropping his head so I have to pull it back up. "I figured you'd be better off without me."
"I get that, sure. But Jaha?" I ask, making him laugh a bit.
"Thanks, Cam. That's the first time I've laughed in three months," he says.
I run my hands down his arms from behind, biting his earlobe. "I promise to make you feel better tonight."
"Why wait?" he says, leaning into my touch.
"Not with this hair," I say, going back to chopping.
Once I'm done, his hair is a little uneven but it looks infinitely better than when it was long. I place the scissors back in the cabinet and sweep the hair into the corner because I'm too lazy to throw it out. I'm also in a bit of a hurry.
John pulls me close to him, hands on my back. "Thanks, doll."
"You're welcome," I say, resting my arms on his shoulders.
"What about my beard?" he asks.
I look down at the scruff starting on his chin. "I don't know. I kinda like it. It's kinda hot."
His eyebrows raise as he grins. "Yeah?"
"Your breath, however. That's a different story," I say, smiling.
Realization spreads across his face as he pulls away from me. "Cam, I'm so sorry."
"It's fine, John, really-"
He's shaking his head quickly. "No, it's not. I didn't even think about that-"
I cut him off with my lips on his before pulling away right after. The taste of scotch lingers on my lips but I just shrug. "It's okay. It doesn't bother me."
He nods. "You're up for it then?"
I grin, playing with the hem of my shirt. "Only if we multitask."
He grins too, walking to me and pulling the shirt over my head. He reaches for the clasp of my bra, undoing it as he kisses me roughly. The fabric falls to the ground as his fingers trail down my waist. I take his shirt off too, hands running up his slim torso.
I smile against his lips. "I'm gonna have to fatten you up."
He smiles too, unbuttoning my shorts as they slide down my legs. I step out of them along with my underwear. My fingers go to his belt, unbuckling it and pulling it out of the loops. He takes his jeans all the way off along with his briefs. He lifts my chin with one hand, kissing me softly. He moves us backward until my back is against the cold glass of the shower door. I open it, stepping inside with John close behind. I pull at the handle without looking and the water comes on. At first it's cold but then it's burning hot. I don't mind, grabbing at his neck to deepen the kiss.
"Shit," he says against my mouth.
"Missed me?" I say back, pulling away.
"So fucking much," he says, pressing me back against the white tiles and pushing into me.
I lean my head back, fingers tangling into his hair and legs wrapping around his waist. "Fuck, John."
"No one calls me John but you," he says to my neck.
"Do you mind?" I ask, nails digging into his back.
He pulls back from my skin to look into my eyes. His eyes drop to my lips then find mine again. "I love it when you say my name."
He thrusts deep into me and I moan loudly, hitting my head against the wall. His hands are on my ass, holding me up. My right hand is knotted into his newly cut hair while my left is on his chest. He kisses me again, one hand grabbing my waist hard. He's developed a rhythm now. This time, he hits my spot and my eyes roll fully into the back of my head.
"You're so beautiful when you're in pleasure," he says, kissing my neck.
"It's the first time in three months," I say, breathing heavy. "You're the only one, John."
His lips trail up my cheek and then to mine. "Fuck."
I pull him against me until my mouth is next to his ear. "I'm close."
He takes this information and exploits it, pounding me even harder. I'm cumming within the second thrust. He pulls out and lets go onto my stomach. When he drops me, my legs are too weak to catch me and I fumble. He grabs my waist to keep me from falling.
"Sorry, sweetheart," he says, still holding me up.
"It's okay," I say, leaning my back against the tiles.
"I'm guessing you're not up for round two then?" he asks, smirking at me.
I laugh, pushing myself off the wall and closer to him. "Maybe later. You need to shower though."
"Right," he says, stepping under the shower head so his hair is flattened. He shuts his eyes, water pouring over them.
I grab the back of his neck, kissing him softly. He kisses me back, hands finding my hips. He pulls me closer until I'm underneath the hot water too. When I pull back, I look up at him through the streams.
"Please don't ever leave me again," I say, shaking my head.
He leans close to my ear. "I promise I'll never leave you."
I hug him this time, arms wrapping around his neck tightly. His hands are gentle on my back, cautious. His chin is resting on my shoulder as our bodies press against each other. I can feel his chest rising and falling with breath.
"And we're getting out of here soon. You need to eat first but as soon as dinner is done, we have to leave. Jaha isn't himself anymore so we have to do it ourselves," I say quietly.
He nods. "I know you're right."
I pull away, nodding at him. "Good. I'll leave you to it."
_•_•_
"Is it enjoyable?"
John and I are eating dinner at Ally's massive dining table. We're sitting across from each other as she stands at the head of the table. John seems to be enjoying it enough. I've been eating like this for three months so it isn't anything new. Steak again, potatoes, salad. There's also biscuits in the middle of the table which John has eaten all of.
"It was alright," he says, dropping his napkin on his plate and leaning back in his chair.
I grin at his actions, remembering them as my own when I was first here.
"Let me know what I can do for you," she says, nodding and walking into the hallway.
"Ally!" I call her back.
She returns. "Yes, Camari?"
"We would like to leave," I say, nodding.
"John hasn't heard about the City of Light yet," she says.
"Don't listen to her," I tell John, standing and walking to her. "We're not putting some chip in our heads to tell us what to do."
"It relieves pain, Camari. You would be free from your past, your pain, your addiction-"
"I'm done with my addiction," I say, shaking my head.
While everything else about the chip disgusts me, that's been the hardest part to fight. I'd never have to worry about relapsing again. Jaha is different though. He doesn't act like himself and I don't want to lose who I am in this thing.
"When John arrived with alcohol on his breath, you wanted to kiss him. Why?" Ally asks, cocking her head slowly.
"I didn't-"
"You did," she corrects me.
"Not because I wanted to taste it but because I wanted to kiss him. I'm not addicted anymore. I'm better," I say, more telling myself than her.
"If you took the key, Camari, you wouldn't need to worry about going back to it-"
"I already don't have to worry about it!" I shout in her face.
"Hey," John says from behind me, kissing my shoulder softly, "it's okay."
I swallow once before straightening my posture. "We want to leave."
John is off of me and Ally's eyes are hopping between the two of us. "There is a boat coming in the morning. Emori will take you back to the mainland."
"Oh great," I say sarcastically. "The thief and her brother bringing us safe haven."
"Camari," John warns me.
"We'll take it," I tell Ally, grabbing John's hand and pulling him toward the stairs.
"Did she say 'Emori?'" John asks me as we walk up the stairs.
"Yeah. She was the one who brought me here. She's been around a couple times since then. Mostly just delivering supplies. I still don't know what they're up to," I say, going down the hall and into my room. I shut the door behind me and turn to him. "Tomorrow might be the only chance we have to escape. She's caught me before every time I've attempted to so we should take the opportunity."
He nods. "Then we have a way out."
I smile. "What about Emori? You sounded like you knew her or something."
"When we were on our way here, she joined us. She took all our weapons and bolted after telling me the right way to go," he says, nodding.
"And..." I say, fingers trailing up his arm. "Is she anything to be jealous of?"
He grins, grasping my hips and laying me on the bed. He climbs on top of me, hands finding my wrists and pinning them above my head. "She is nothing."
I hook my left leg around his torso, turning us so that I'm on top. I hold myself up with my hands on his chest. "Good."
WORD COUNT: 2341
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