This Broken City Sky

"We are stationed in the Steiner warehouse on the Southwest side of the Brooklyn Naval Yard, it is the red bri-"

"Fuck, Brooklyn?" Gerard hissed, once everyone had gathered around the radio, and listened to the broadcast a few times. Dylan shook her head a little, and sat up straight. She wanted to feel glad that there were people out there, but she just couldn't. They were two rivers and an island away from Brooklyn, with no definitive way to get there.

"Figures. Thanks guys!" Kat snapped at the radio, and slapped her hands down against her legs. Lily raised her eyebrows slightly, and looked at Dylan. Lily was the only one mildly glad to hear that the army had set up a place in Brooklyn, because she lived in Brooklyn Heights. For a little while, anyway. Dylan had yet to say anything to or about the fact that Lily lived there, because she didn't really think it was relevant. She crossed her legs, and looked over at Frank, who was sitting in one of the tables' chairs.

"It'd be possible if we had a car," Lily shrugged slightly, and glanced around at everyone. They looked back at her with blank expressions, "The car we came in is still in front of the hotel, I think we left the keys inside." She added, and Johnny sighed, running his hands over his face.

"I really don't think the problem is how we get there, but all the shit we have to wade through on the way." He stated in sort of a low voice, and looked at the carpet under his feet. Everyone was silent for a little while as their eyes shifted around to different items or people in the room.

"Guess we've got a big decision to make, then." Gerard stated, crossing his arms over his chest sternly, then tapping the ash off of his cigarette. Dylan nodded, and stood up from her seat on Kat's bed, running her hands over her pajama pants to steady them. Her eyes shifted to Frank briefly, before giving everyone else a once-over.

"I think we should wait and think about this. A lot. Cause like Johnny said, we don't even know what the rest of Belleville is like, or Manhattan for that matter. So I think we should just....Wait...For a bit..." She nodded uneasily and Lily did the same, fully agreeing with her cousin. Lily knew Dylan wouldn't like this; they were just beginning to get comfortable with their surroundings, and these people. They had a decent amount of food and water left, and not to mention power, but who knew what these army people had?

"Of course we'd do that, it's not like we're going to run out there, guns blazing with no fuckin plan, Dylan." Frank butt in with a snappy tone and held his hands out, palms up in a sort of gesture that said his statement was too obvious. A slight frown bent Dylan's face as she looked at him, faintly surprised he'd still talk to her like that. Frank sighed a little, and rubbed his neck anxiously as he cast his eyes down to his shoes. The others shifted awkwarkdly, and Dylan still stood, her eyes fixed on Frank.

"I'm going upstairs." Dylan muttered, and quickly walked away from the group. They all flinched when the door slammed harder than it should have. Lily patted her hand against the table, next to the radio that still talked.

"Well um...Just, lets take a while to think this over...I'm going to go down to the gift shop and get a few maps." She said in her usual gentle way, then pushed herself up from the chair. The others watched her leave as well, while still listening to the voice the radio emitted. Ray's eyes switched to Frank before he stood up, and went to stand next to the couch his friend was sitting on. Ray bumped Franks knee with his leg, causing him to look up, startled.

"Maybe you should go upstairs," Ray muttered quietly, so only Frank could hear, "Get some air." He raised his eyebrows a bit, and Frank looked off toward the window. Then he stood from the room's small couch, and stepped around Ray without another word. Frank made his way to, then out the door quickly, and kept his brisk pace all the way to the stairwell at the end of the hall. With a sigh, he pushed the heavy metal door back, looking down, then up the stairs as he did so. After the door fell shut behind him he could hear the faint sound of footsteps a few flights above them. So, taking the stairs two at a time, Frank began to vault up the stairs.

Dylan walked a little faster when she heard the door to the stairwell close somewhere below her, and she hoped she'd be on the eleventh floor before they could catch up. But of course when she stopped briefly to look over the edge of the banister to look down between the flights of stairs, the figure was only two or three flights below. So she sighed heavily, and continued stomping her way up the stairs.

"DYLAN!!" Frank yelled, his voice echoing back to him in the small space, "STOP! Fuckin...Wait up!" He sucked in a breath of air as hard as he could, but continued up the stairs even if at a slower pace. Dylan grit her teeth but knowing that it was Frank, she stopped at the top of the tenth floor to wait for him.

"You didn't have to run after me," She said plainly, and stared at the wall next to her. Frank stopped at the bottom of the stairs, breathing harder than he had in the last three months, "It wasn't anything you said..." She muttered, looking down at her shoes bashfully. Frank just walked up the staircase slowly, his hand on the railing.

"I know..." He sighed, and sat down on the top step, when he reached it, "Just wanted...To make sure you were alright." He finished, then began to catch his breath. Dylan's eyes wandered to him tentatively before she dropped her hands to her sides in defeat. She plopped down next to him on the hard ground, and rested her head against her fist.

"You didn't have to do that either..." She mumbled, and looked over at Frank, watching his shoulders rise and fall subtly as he breathed. Instead of replying, he just shook his head. For a while, the two sat there in the peaceful silence of the stairwell as Frank collected himself, and Dylan waited until he found the ability to speak again.

"I know that," He said quietly, so the words wouldn't bounce around the walls then back to them, "I kinda just wanted to get out of there." Frank was lying, obviously. He was making sure Dylan wasn't upset with him, or anything else for that matter.

"Yeah its....A bit much at once, you know?" She raised her eyebrows as she looked over at him again. Frank nodded, and ran his hand through his short-cropped hair as he thought about how to reply.

"I guess, but it's something. At least we know we're not alone anymore." Frank replied lightly, shrugging his shoulders. Dylan sighed, then nodded as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Just wish it was...I don't know, easier....But I'm probably asking too much, I don't know..." She mumbled, almost to herself, and shook her head. Frank frowned at her statement because he didn't really understand.

"How can anything in this situation be easy...?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound too sarcastic or what have you. Dylan looked over at him with a blank stare that nearly made him take back what he had said. Frank was getting sick of how easily she was upset. But then she shrugged, and frowned slightly.

"I just don't want to have to go through Manhattan," She stated casually, and rested her elbows on her knees, "I don't want to know that I'm in the same city that my dad and my brothers could be. And not to mention Ben, when I know I'm just passing through to get somewhere safe again. Without seeing if they're even alive..." Dylan frowned hard at the little window that let the sunlight into the stairwell. Frank had no idea what to tell her, and he didn't want to make something up.

"We could take the ferries." He smiled a little, and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Dylan scoffed a laugh, and turned her head to look at Frank. She was glad for his little quip, but it hardly made her feel any better.

"I was on my way to the roof..." She dragged out the last word a little, and left the sentance as an open ended invitation. Frank nodded slightly, and stretched one leg out, so he could dig around in the front pocket of his jeans. When he retrieved the pack of cigarettes and his small blue lighter, he got to his feet, and offered Dylan his hand. Before taking it, Dylan gazed at his calloused palm but placed her hand in it none the less. Frank helped her to her feet, then let go of her hand reluctantly to place a cigarette between his lips and light it. Dylan narrowed her eyes at him.

"You want to know something?" She said, her expression looking oddly distraught. Frank exhaled a through his nose, and clenched the filter between his teeth.

"What?" He mumbled, and stared at Dylan. She stepped forward, snatching the cigarette out of his mouth quickly, and threw it on the ground. Frank's mouth dropped open as he watched her stamp her foot on it.

"I hate that you smoke." She muttered once her focus fixed on him again. Frank looked at her with an expression somewhere between anger and disbelief. But he simply chalked this up to Dylan being Dylan, and her usual prissy self.

"The fuck do you care Dylan?" He snapped, being a bit too harsh though he didn't mean to. Dylan's shoulders slumped a little, and she let out an exasperated sigh as she looked up the stairs. She was so, so tired of arguing with him.

"Why do you think?" She asked softly, so much so that Frank nearly didn't hear her. Seeing her expression, he let the little disagreement go, since they had clearly moved on to a very different subject. And one he'd been looking forward to addressing with her. He took a second to think over his next move as he chewed on the side of his lip. He felt it was one of those now, or never situations. So as tactfully as he could, Frank took two steps forward, leaving no space between himself and Dylan. Then, in one quick movement, he leaned his head toward hers just enough so their lips pressed together. Dylan's eyes snapped shut on impulse, though she was a little jarred at what was going on. She felt the light touch of Frank's hands against her ribs, and though she had been caught off guard momentarily, she gathered herself enough to kiss back a little.

It took a little while for the both of them to feel comfortable enough to even move, but when they did, Dylan parted her lips slightly to move her mouth against Frank's just so. With a little sigh, he let his hands travel around to her back so he could hold her a bit closer. Dylan merely held on to the sides of his jacket as they kissed, and nothing more.

Eventually, Frank pulled away just enough so their lips didn't touch, and inhaled deeply. Dylan searched her mind for something to say as she looked down at their feet, but nothing fit or sounded right. So she left it to Frank to speak first. But he didn't, for a while. They simply stood, clinging to one another.

"I um...Uum..." Frank started, but what he was going to say sort of died when it reached his lips, "You aren't uh...I mean that was....with you?" He tripped over his words a little, but hoped Dylan would understand none the less. Her eyes flickered up to him, as a smile threatened to overcome her lips.

"I have no idea what you're trying to say," She laughed a little, and shook her head. Frank chuckled awkwardly as well, and let his hands fall slightly so they rested against her sides again, "It's fine." She added quietly, and gave Frank a small nod. He nodded in return, and couldn't help but to grin.