Bulletproof

I woke slowly from my slumber, blinking the sleepy fog from my eyes as I sat up as quietly as I could. Everyone (even Nic and Christian) had taken shifts, going between sleeping and keeping watch over Poison and on the lookout for more Dracs. It definitely wasn’t my turn, since mine had been the second. Looking at the clock, it was now the fourth or fifth shift. I stood from the bed that my brother had given to me, tip-toeing past him as he slept on his battered little couch. He was a bit too tall for it, so his feet dangled over the armrest. His head had started to loll, dangerously close to falling off the couch. Gently as I could, I nudged it back up, petting his mop of dark hair fondly for a moment. I didn’t come back often because it always hurt to leave.

I padded down the stairs in my bare feet, running a hand through my short hair. I grumbled to myself quietly, glaring at the lights that were flipped on in the dining area. The blinds were still closed, but it was evident by the complete lack of natural light that it was still nighttime. Shuffling my way out to where Poison had been resting, I stopped and smiled when I caught sight of Ghoul. His small frame had slumped forward onto the table from where he was sitting in the side of the booth opposite Poison. His breathing was soft, barely audible even in the silence of the room, and his hair shagged in his face. Making my way over, a laid a hand on his shoulder to gently rouse him.

“Ghoul,” I called softly, shaking him just a tiny bit. He blinked slowly awake like I had minutes before, running the back of his hand over his eyes. He glanced around, probably wondering where in the hell he was, before looking at me. He blinked again.

“What’re you doing down here, Freak? You’ve already done your shift.”

“I couldn’t sleep. Since you can, you should go upstairs and take a rest,” I urged him, and he looked a little sheepish.

“I didn’t even feel tired, but all of the sudden I must’ve crashed.”

“It was a long day,” I laughed quietly, trying not to disturb Poison, “I don’t blame you for being tired. Seriously, I don’t mind taking a second shift if you want some sleep. It’d do you good to sleep in a bed for once.”

He shook his head stubbornly, glancing at his resting friend. “I don’t want to just leave Ger-”

He stopped, his expression vacant. Under the heavy hand of sleep, he’d become careless and nearly given away one of his closest friends’ identities. That was generally frowned upon in the Killjoy society. Names are something like a life bond- you don’t give one out unless you trust someone completely. You’re literally putting your life in their hands, since they could easily turn you in in order to get themselves off of BLI’s black list.

“Shit,” he muttered, putting his head in his hands. He looked extremely upset, and I had to admit that it made me a little upset, too. I didn’t like seeing him like this, beating himself up over an honest mistake. He hadn’t even gotten the full name out. I don’t know any names that begin with ‘Ger’ anyhow.

“Ghoul,” I tested the waters, but he wasn’t listening. He was too busy shaming himself. “Ghoul,” I said again, with more authority this time. He glanced at me through his fingers.

“Shit,” he repeated, tugging on his hair lightly. “I’m such a fuckup.”

“Ghoul, no offence, but shut the hell up,” I demanded. I really had his attention now. “Look, it’s no big deal. I have no idea what you’re talking about at all. I didn’t hear anything.”

He looked me straight in the eye. “You did, though. We both know you did. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was my own name, but someone else’s…”

He continued murmuring on, looking irritated with himself. I let him go for about three minutes before I decided to interrupt him.

“Harley,” I said simply, cringing inwardly. I really had no intention of giving them my name. Not for a long while, at least. I knew I could trust them, I just didn’t know how far. They saved my life. They’re helping me find Kin. They took me in fresh out of Korse’s clutches. I owe them this much.

“What?” he looked up now, taking his hands away from his head, though they grabbed at each other tightly from where they rested on the top of the table.

“My name is Harley,” I elaborated, and he looked at me closely. I could see that it didn’t quite register through his little pity party. “You almost let his name slip, yeah, but I’m giving you mine. Relax, Ghoul, I won’t tell a soul. I’d rather die than sell out a friend.”

“You know that we’ve only known you for a little while,” he pointed out, raising an eyebrow at me. I nodded as I sat on the edge of the table, my torso twisted so I could face him properly.

“Yeah, I know. If you guys were going to drop me, you would’ve done it by now. You could’ve left me out in the desert to die after fighting Korse, but you took me with you. You could’ve let me die from infection since my leg is all fucked up, but you didn’t. You guys could’ve left me at that service station with those Dracs. You could’ve dropped me in the middle of the desert when I rode with you to that place where we found Kin’s note. No one goes through that much trouble to backstab someone anymore,” I told him with all the confidence I could muster. I believed every word that came out of my mouth, but a fairly large part of me still cringed at the thought of putting myself at someone else’s mercy.

Ghoul was quiet for a long time after that. I didn’t know if he’d listened to a single word I’d said, but I guessed that he had. He looked to be deep in thought, toying with his fingers and gazing at them without really seeing them. I let the minutes trickle by in silence, giving him time to work out whatever it was that he was thinking over. I kicked my feet through the air from my perch on the table, winding some hair between my index and middle fingers. It was a habit I’d had since I was a kid, and I still found it comforting. I had lost myself in my thoughts when I heard him say something to my back. I turned, letting my head fall back so that I was looking at him upside down.

“Sorry, what?” I asked, and he glanced at me again.

“My name is Frank,” he admitted casually, putting on a good act of nonchalance. A small smile tugged on my mouth, and I turned to sit cross-legged so that I was actually facing him. I held out a hand, which he simply looked at.

“Seriously?”

“Shake my hand, damn you. It’s only polite for introductions,” I tutted at him, waving my hand around a little until he clasped it with his own and shook. I grinned at him while he gave me a look.

“You do know that we already know each other, right?” he questioned, but it had a hidden undertone of ‘are you stupid’ mixed in.

“Well, we know each other better now, no taking that back.”

He chuckled and released my hand. We chatted for a couple of minutes about mostly aimless things until I heard footsteps on the stairs. The two of us turned to stare at whoever it was. It turned out to be Jet, stumbling in sleepily, his curly hair wilder than usual and matted down on one side (the side he’d obviously been sleeping on). He eyed us both in a confused fashion before shuffling over like a zombie.

“Your shift’s over, Ghoul,” he murmured, yawning widely. Frank nodded in acknowledgement, but made no move to get up.

I yawned after a second, feeling a little wave of sleepiness hitting me. I blinked heavily, yawning a second time.

“I’m going to stay up a little while longer. I’m not really tired yet,” he decided, and Jet nodded before sitting down next to him in the booth. I yawned for a third time, unable to bite it back. Frank slapped my knee lightly, catching my attention.

“Go back to bed, we’ll be fine here,” he suggested, and I thought about it.

“I guess I could do with a little more sleep,” I admitted, scooting off the table. I waved to them both casually as they said their goodnights to me.

“Night Jet, night Frank,” I called quietly over my shoulder. I knew that they guys all knew one another well. They’d been together a long time, after all. It wasn’t a big deal if Jet heard.

“You told her?” I heard him ask quietly as I slipped back up the stairs to catch some zees.

As soon as I flopped back down on the bed, I was out. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept in a bed with an actual mattress. I slept hard and uninterrupted until later that morning. While I snoozed peacefully, someone felt it necessary to flop down on the bed next to me, causing me to jerk to the right, effectively vaulting myself out of the bed. I hit the ground with a dull thudding noise, and the sound of laughter filled my ears. I made a noise that was somewhere between a groan of pain and a growl of annoyance at whoever was laughing at me, my brain still riddled with sleep. The ground was nowhere near as comfortable as the bed, but I could make due. I still wanted to sleep.

I felt something nudge my bare foot. It felt like someone else’s bare foot. I cracked one eye open menacingly, raising my gaze to meet that of whoever was touching me. It turned out to be Christian, who was raising his eyebrows questioningly at me. I sneered at him before closing my eye again. He nudged me again, but I decided to ignore him. He’d have to go away eventually.

He, however, had other plans. He went right on nudging me insistently, and I could still hear laughter in the background. Nudge. Nudge. Nudge. Nud-

“What?!” I demanded when I could no longer take it. I sat upright quickly, causing my head to spin from the sudden movement. I shook it off and glared darkly at Christian, who was smiling. “What could possibly be so damn important that you’re going to sit here kicking me when I’m already on the floor? Go to hell!” I hollered at him, and then noticed that he had a try with food in his hands.

“Nic made breakfast for you lot, but if you’d rather sleep…” he trailed off, making to walk away. I heard the noises of other people eating, and concluded that at least some of the guys must be up here. If Nic was cooking, he was already downstairs in the kitchen. I had forgotten that they opened pretty early. Christian had gotten a few steps away when I whined and lunged for him, grabbing him around the waist from the side while the rest of me hung limply. He nearly tripped, but managed to keep himself on his feet. “I thought you wanted to sleep.”

“Who said anything about sleeping?” I asked innocently, eying the tray in his hands hungrily. He shook his head at my behavior before kicking me gently off his legs. I slumped to the ground uselessly, and I heard him scoff.

“How do you plan to eat with your face on the ground? For your dignity’s sake, get up,” he laughed. I did, though I made a big show of it. He handed me the tray while I sat in the middle of the floor. There were blueberries, strawberries, and waffles that were positively drenched in syrup. I could feel my face light up.

“Tell Nic that I love him and that he’s the best!” I called after Christian’s back, hearing him laugh as he closed the door behind him. I took that time to finally glance around myself, seeing the guys looking at me. All of the guys.

“Poison!” I cheered, noticing that he’d finally woken up. He grinned and waved at me from his spot on the bed he was lounging on. “Wait a minute, you bitch! You took my spot,” I whined at him. He laughed with a shrug while he munched on whatever it was he was eating, swallowing before he made his reply.

“I didn’t do anything except sit down. I didn’t even touch you. You just freaked out and threw yourself into the wall,” he excused, taking another forkful of what appeared to be a waffle into his mouth. “This shit is delicious,” he announced after a second. I rolled my eyes at him before starting on my own breakfast.

“Real food,” I mused aloud, glad that it wasn’t a can of Power Pup. “Not just anyone can get this excited about breakfast.”

“I know I can,” Kobra voiced from the couch, and I laughed. “Seriously, it’s nice not to have to choke down food to survive for once.”

We all ate in silence, relishing the first real meal any of us had had in a while. When everyone had finished, I pushed the tray off my lap before stretching casually.

“I suppose we’re all hiding out up here until business dies down,” I guessed, and was met with a nod from each man in the room.

“We don’t want people seeing us around here. Not good for us, and not good for your brother,” Ghoul agreed.

“What about the car?” I asked, thinking that it’d be a dead giveaway.

“We moved it a little ways off earlier,” Jet dismissed, and I nodded before another question came to me.

“How long have you guys been up?”

“About two hours, maybe?” Poison estimated, and I gaped.

“Why didn’t anyone wake me up earlier?” I demanded, embarrassed. They’d all been up here chilling out while I slept like the dead. Back at the hideout, we all pretty much woke up at the same time, though that was mostly due to the fact that no one could stand up without tripping over everyone else on their way out of the office.

“Ghoul told us that you got up last night and kept him company for a while,” Kobra explained, and I nodded until I froze.

“What else did he tell you?” I asked, turning to meet Ghoul’s gaze. He held his hands up defensively.

“I didn’t tell them anything,” he promised. “Maybe you should, though.”

I thought about it for a minute. In reality, the damage was already done; I had freely given my identity to Ghoul, and he’d given his to me. If he really wanted to, he could tell the others. I didn’t have a reason to trust them any less than I trusted him, so I decided to just go for it.

“Yeah,” I mused quietly, before clearing my throat. “You’re right. Okay, so… hi. Uh, I’m not going to give the rest of you the same speech that I gave Gh- Frank last night,” I started, and they exchanged glances when I used his name. “Anyway, my name is Harley,” I gave them a little wave and then sat there, awaiting the response.

“Wait… did you just…?” Poison mumbled thoughtfully, more to himself than anyone else in the room. “Okay, Harley, why now? Why give us that information now?”

I shrugged unhelpfully. “I told you I wasn’t going to give you the speech. Long story short, I trust you guys,” I told them honestly, staring at each of them in turn. They all (minus Frank, of course) seemed to be deliberating in their minds, so the room was silent for a few minutes.

“Well, it’s nice to officially meet you,” Jet decided. “I’m Ray.”

I looked at him uncomprehendingly for a second, but when it clicked in my head, I grinned at him. He returned the smile with a laugh.

“I like it, it suits you,” I complimented, and he laughed a little more, shaking his head which caused his big hair to bounce gently.

“Well, as long as we’re all being trusting here,” Poison laughed along with us before adding, “I’m Gerard.”

“Mikey,” Kobra introduced himself short, and I cooed at him. He made an annoyed face at me, which made me giggle. “What?”

“That’s so cute!” I exclaimed, which made everyone except him laugh along with me. He rolled his eyes before looking away from all of us sheepishly.

“Shut up,” he grumbled, which only redoubled our laughter. When it died down, I looked at the four men. My four friends.

“Seriously guys, it’s cool that you trust me this much,” I commented, feeling that that big, silly grin was still on my face. Everyone returned it, even Mikey. “I’m really touched, seriously.”

“Well, it’s only fair,” Gerard replied, and I looked at him. It was weird to think his name, I couldn’t imagine how it felt to actually say it. “You gave us your name, plus we know who your brother is and where he lives and works. I’m pretty sure we can trust you at this point.”

“Good point,” I agreed after a second of thought, nodding.

I heard a slight commotion on the stairs, though it was quiet enough that it wouldn’t disturb any customers out in the dining area. I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to look at the door. The scuffle seemed to be getting closer, but it didn’t sound like Dracs. You could generally tell when they were around by the fact that ray guns were usually being shot. The guys seemed to hear it as well, and they turned to stare just as I did. After a few seconds, the doorknob rattled and turned slowly. I found myself holding my breath in anticipation, wondering what was going on. I could hear Nic clearly protesting against another, higher voice. It sounded female. I frowned, since I had no idea who it could possibly be.

The door pushed open seconds later, and Nic came tumbling in in a tangle with someone else. The other person turned out to be a girl, though her face was obscured by the fact that she and my brother were still wrestling on the ground. I got to my feet and rushed to close the door so that they wouldn’t roll out and down the stairs while they were fighting. With that done, I looked at them while trying to figure out what to say. I finally settled on something simple and to the point.

“What the fuck is going on here?” I demanded, hands on my hips as the two froze on the ground. Nic then struggled to keep the girl’s attention while she fought against him to look up at me. Eventually she won by delivering an unsportsmanlike kick below the belt. Nic let out a moan of pain as he curled up in a ball and clutched himself while she got up and straightened herself out. She was shorter than me, standing at about 5’2”. Her sheets of dark hair prevented me from seeing her face, until she shook the hair out of her eyes.

Her eyes, which were identical to mine.

“Oh, God. Sash, is that you?” I breathed, my hands falling limply from my hips. Her bewildered expression must’ve mirrored my own, until she punched me in the gut. I groaned, doubling over.

“Where the hell have you been?!”