I'm Half-Doomed and You're Semi-Sweet

She awoke with a start, frantically whipping her head around to examine her strange surroundings. She winced, putting her fingers to her bruised throat, sore from the treatment it had received the night before.

She gasped in surprised fear, feeling a strong hand gently forcing her to lie back down on the bed.

“It’s just me,” the familiar voice informed her.

“Jack?” she asked, her voice coming out as a croak.

“Shh…” he replied, taking her hand in his and sitting at the edge of the bed.

“But-”

“You’ll hurt your throat,” he interrupted. “I…I saw the bruises,” he added. She reached up to feel her neck again. “I’m sorry.”

“Come here,” she croaked softly, regardless of the pain stabbing at her throat. “I want to…hug you,” she rasped, pulling her best friend closer by the hand. He smiled, wrapping his long arms around her sore body to embrace her carefully.

“I missed you, Kir,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

“I missed-”

“Don’t-” he began.

“I missed you too,” she finished defiantly.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I didn’t think- he said he was only bringing you back, I didn’t think he’d hurt you like this-”

“I made him angry,” she explained. Her voice was getting stronger, but it wasn’t hurting any less to talk.

“I won’t let him do anything else to you,” he stated quietly, a promise.

“What is he planning on doing to me?” she asked, despite there really only being two options of what Alex could and would do.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jack said, glancing at her and then studying his hands. “Because I won’t let him.”

Jack was acting a bit strange, but Kira didn’t care.

And on the subject of not caring, she didn’t care that Pete didn’t care about her, either.

She was back where she belonged, with her best friend who would protect her.

She didn’t need anyone else.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After everyone had been gone for a few hours, Pete battled internally with himself over whether or not to go find her himself.

As he’d just decided to leave, the five of them began entering the room.

“Did you find her?” he asked, trying not to sound in anyway frantic and therefore pathetic.

“We couldn’t find her anywhere,” Patrick admitted in disappointment.

“We even checked Gaskarth’s hideout,” Andy added. “It was deserted.”

“They could have taken her-” Pete started to hypothesize.

“It’s a definite possibility,” Patrick sighed. “But…Pete, maybe she doesn’t want to be found. Maybe she left with them on purpose.”

“Why would she do that?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Patrick looked at him as if he were a bipolar idiot, which he very well might be.

“Well, Pete, you weren’t exactly the greatest host,” Patrick pointed out. “You fucking ignored her for weeks, and now you’re surprised she’s gone.”

“You don’t even know her,” Pete growled.

“Neither do you,” Patrick shot back, throwing Pete off guard. “Not really.”

Pete didn’t answer, instead brushed past everyone else, who had remained quiet and out of their argument.

Pete found himself searching Gaskarth’s hideout, which, as Andy had correctly pointed out, was empty.

He found his way onto the roof, which didn’t help the situation in the slightest.

“Gaskarth!” he yelled loudly in frustration, into the night.

The cold air of the night whistled in his ears and his voice echoed in the streets and alleys below.

“Wentz,” an amused voice from behind interrupted the wind’s howling.

“Where is she?” he asked, spinning around to face him.

“How is that any of your concern?” Alex asked, eyebrows raised.

“If you do anything to her-”

“You’re really in no position to threaten me, Wentz,” he pointed out in a bored tone. “But I’ll give you one last chance.”