Title: City of the Damned Status: Complete Characters: Anon, Naomi Rating: SFW Classification: One-Shot Author: PumpkinBrain Summary: Anon and Naomi travel in the same car on their way to a campsite. It’ll be such fun, meeting up with the gang and making s’mores. However, on the way there, things go wrong, and Anon’s truck ends up totaled. [PRE-NOTES] at the end of another lost highway. [/PRE-NOTES] January 8th. Saturday. 4:00 pm. Weather conditions: idk, average. Anyway… …When all of your friends invite you to go out camping, if you don’t have anything going on, I’d consider it common courtesy to say yes. You go along in someone’s car, set up tents, chat around the campfire, sleep in a tent with someone you maybe don’t like as much as your other friends—it’s, all around, a grand time. You get to share stories and make new memories with your best friends in the whole world. You get to eat marshmallows. It’s all fantastic. However, what’s NOT fantastic is being the only one of your friends to own a truck. Apparently, the NasCar wouldn’t cut it for transportation, so it was up to me to ratchet everything down and get everything prepared. They had dropped all their shit off individually and then left me with the cute parasaurolophus girl they all knew I had a crush on. They were dicks, is what they were. Assholes. Cunts! Even if I loved them, I would’ve at least appreciated some help… I yawned as I cranked the ratchet back and forth, tightening the final strap I needed. I had spent all morning packing everything up. Naomi had at least helped a little bit, but I did most of the grunt work. It wasn’t super hard all around, but lifting a borrowed generator into a truck on your lonesome is… one of the things that I would consider ‘pretty fucking hard’. If I’m being COMPLETELY honest. My goddamn—my lanky arms were no help. I need to hit the gym one of these days… …And yeah, borrowed. We were borrowing most of this stuff, as we didn’t really have any of our own. Most of the camping supplies belonged to Naser’s dad, Ripley. Naomi’s ex-‘almost-father-in-law’, or something like that. Naser and Naomi had dated at some point, if that prior note was any indication. I don’t remember when they did it, but it surprisingly didn’t weaken their relationship. Naser and Naomi still get along pretty well, which is nice to see. However! What this did… was allow me to cuck myself. Knowing Naomi was single allowed me to think about her constantly and… eventually, develop gay-ass feelings for her. Naser was always telling me to ask her out, but she was so out-of-my league it wasn’t even funny. I was doomed to live a life of one-sided love. Which… put a bit of a strain on me and Naomi’s relationship. It made things awkward sometimes. I could still talk to her, and I could still enjoy time with her, but simple things like grabbing her ha— “Almost done, Anon?” Naomi asked, and I practically yelped as I jumped back. I whipped my head in her direction, and sputtered out words of surprise. “J-Jeez, Naomi!” I shouted. My face was somewhat red now, whether from embarrassment at yelling, or maybe embarrassment at Naomi’s presence, I didn’t know. “Scared me.” I exhaled. “Oh, s-sorry.” She muttered, gaining a blush of her own and looking down at her feet. “I—I just saw you tightening that ratchet strap for a while—you looked pretty out of it.” She explained, stumbling over her words slightly. She was even touching her fingertips together. But then she looked back at me. “Are... are you alright?” “Yeah… fine. Thanks.” I answered, and reviewed my own work. It was oddly tight, but she was right, I had been pointlessly cranking a ratchet that wasn’t actually doing anything anymore. Oh well. I guess we were ready to go. “Alright, yeah, we’re good.” I nodded, and turned to face her again. “They’re already at the campsite, right?” “Mhm-hm!” She nodded. “I texted both Naser and Stella, and they confirmed it. Should I let them know that we’re gonna be…” She looked thoughtful, and then at her little pink watch. “A little over two hours?” I nodded, and unlocked the truck itself. “Sounds good to me.” I said, and then flung open the red door, trying to hide my annoyance. Because great. We were getting there after dark. Ugh… …Anyway, I grabbed the little handle and stepped up into the seat, the soft cushion feeling nice on my aching muscles. Naomi followed the same movement patterns and climbed into the passenger side. “Good work getting it all set up, Anon.” She smiled, and held out her hand. Huh. Her hand. What? What could it mean. …I felt myself nearly blank out completely. When I realized that she was holding her hand out for a high-five, I felt myself jump back into the real world. Her face was now beginning to scrunch up in concern, so I… awkwardly gave her one in return. Touching her hand was a little taboo for me. It was nearly something incredibly lewd… but see what I mean? Something as simple as hand-touching… fuck. Zeus. Why must you cuck me. I was honestly hoping she’d have taken the backseat. We wouldn’t be nearly touching if she were sitting in the back. Ugh… fuck. Snap out of it, Anon. She’s a cute girl but she’s still just a human. I mean, she’s a dino. She’s still just a dino. Her sitting next to you is NOT a Defcon 3 level threat. It is NOT anything requiring spaghetti in any form. We are driving to a campsite. Alone. In a truck. For an entire hour. …I turned the ignition, and the whiny V6 engine of the 2005 Toyota Tacoma roared to life. Fucking thing. Gas is so damn expensive these days, turning the key probably just sent twenty bucks down the drain. Thank goodness I live close enough to school to walk and don’t have to drive this old thing too many places. It’s a cool truck, sure, but it’s a hand-me-down. If I had the choice, I would much rather have a Ford Ranger or something. Would be much more convenient, and way better on gas. However… it wouldn’t be as reliable. People kill for these things. Maybe I’m just spoiled… I pressed on the pedal, and relaxed back into my seat as I practically peeled out of my crappy neighborhood. As I rolled through a stop-sign, I pulled out my cell phone and did that whole ‘look at the road kinda as you stare at your phone’ trick in order to turn on my playlist. It was just a bunch of music I liked, though, so I don’t really think it’s a playlist? I think it’s just a… collage. Or something. Either way, the music is now… on. “Dear mother, can you hear me whining…” “It’s been 3 whole weeks since that I have left your home…” I felt myself relax completely as the sounds of rock music filled my ears. I kept it somewhat quiet, but just loud enough to hear it. Mostly because I wanted to leave my ears open, in case, say, Naomi wanted to talk to me. Or something. Talking would be nice… “Whaddya wanna talk about?” Naomi asked, giving me a small smile. Fuck. Muttering. “I didn’t wanna interrupt you while you were working, but now that we have some time, it would be nice to talk to you a bit.” Heart: soaring. Blood: pumping. Dick: hard. Just kidding. However, my heart was still soaring. “I-O-Oh, yeah?” I asked, chuckling nervously. “Good to know.” I replied, and continued staring intensely at the road. Subaru Outback in front of us. Nice. …Naomi stared at me, blankly. All she did was blink a few times as she processed what I had said. And I did the same thing. What the hell? Good to know? I didn’t even offer any other explanation, nor any actual conversational topics! Why am I such a sperg? Fuck. Though, thankfully, after a few seconds, my brain kicked in again, and I backpedaled. “S-Sorry, I’m an idiot. Uh. What do you wanna talk about?” I asked. Basic question, but… it works. “Hm…” She muttered, looking out the window. “Well, there’s some drama stuff going on with the council.” She turned back to face me. “Would you be interested in hearing about that, or do you want us to talk about something else?” She asked, genuinely wondering about my opinion. I smiled at her as I pulled up the directions to the campsite on my phone. “We can talk about that.” Normally, I wouldn’t have said yes, given I don’t really care. I don’t do any work on the student council and I don’t even know who works with Naomi on it. I know that like, Spears is involved, but that’s it. So normally, I would’ve denied talking about it. It didn’t interest me and frankly I barely cared. However, since I’m a beta male who wants to feel like the person I like likes me back, I’ll sit down and listen to anything Naomi has to say. C’est la vie. “So basically,” Naomi started, already sounding annoyed. “Principal Spears screwed something up during the process of counting, or like, taxing our donation money or something. He screwed it up so bad that the government gave us more money than it was supposed to.” She spoke, and paused. I took the opportunity to interject. “How much money?” I asked, curiously. I merged onto the freeway as I did. “…he uh…” She sounded scared now. “..he got five-thousand.” Naomi admitted, her voice no louder than a whisper. I gulped. Uh oh. “Gosh darn right, uh oh.” The life kicked back into her tone. “So now, me and the rest of the council are trying to find a way to put it all back without the government noticing. Though they… probably will. And at that point, who knows if Spears will be arrested for tax fraud or if they’ll understand it was a mistake…” She sighed. “I just… feel like I’m in that movie, Office Space, or something. It’s just so surreal.” She finished, and then turned to me. Probably expecting me to say something. “Yeah, I don’t blame you.” I said, taking my proper queue. “That is pretty surreal. I don’t know if there’s a way you CAN just send five-thousand dollars back to the government.” I scratched my chin. Surely not, right? “I think you might just have to call the IRS or something and explain the situation. Seems like the most logical step. They can take the money back and maybe just let him off with a warning? I’m sure it’s not the first time someone’s messed up their taxes.” I shrugged, and gave a smile. It was awkward, but I hope it helped. She sighed again. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She nodded. “I don’t know though. Isn’t that just so…” “Weird?” I chuckled. She nodded, and gave a giggle of her own. “Yeah, that’s pretty damn weird. You’d think Spears would know how to pay his taxes.” “Right?!” Naomi exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat. “God. He’s been a principal for over five years.” She laughed. “Really?” I asked, giving an empty chuckle. I had an actual question this time. “How old is he?” Naomi gave a shrug. “I think, like… thirty? He’s not that old.” She answered. “Oh, really?” I looked to the road and put a finger on my chin. I yawned again. Damn I’m tired. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It would be pretty hard for him to pile-drive students and throw cars if he was older than thirty.” Naomi giggled at that. Such a fantastic sound. “I guess you’re right about that.” She gave me a smile. I gave her one back, and then she… decided to say something SUPER weird. Like, hella weird. “You know, you have a nice smile.” She muttered, and I watched as her face flushed a light pink. Mine flushed the same color. “Uh… th-thanks.” I stuttered. I then tried to turn back on cool-mode. “I made it myself.” Naomi busted out laughing at that, and eventually, I found myself joining in. It was a pretty dumb joke, yet… I thought it was kinda funny. Even if it was only said because I was a goddamn sperg. But when am I not, really? I always fuck up social situations. It’s merely who I am, haha. Anyway, after our exchange, we settled back into a relative silence. The song had since changed to something other than Green Day, which I guess I could be thankful for—variety is nice—but I already missed the sounds of power chords. Green Day is so fvcking zased… ahem. Next topic. I continued driving the truck, watching as all the cars around me began to blur together. I kept my speed consistent, I kept the wheel straight, I didn’t crash into people. It was the most boring and basic way to drive a car, and I can’t say I really enjoyed it. But after a few minutes, Naomi suddenly realized something. “Wait, I’m sorry. What about you, Anon?” She asked. I looked over at her and then back to the road. “How have you been doing?” She clarified. “Oh,” I muttered, and gave a chuckle. “Thanks for asking. I’ve… been alright, I guess.” I shrugged. “Not much has been going on in the daily life of Anon Mous, you know? School, schoolwork—it’s all the same shit.” “Oh, I can understand that.” She nodded, and looked thoughtful. “Well, have you read any good books lately?” She asked. She was trying to keep this conversation going, but… she must not know certain things about me… “Nah, I don’t really read…” I trailed off, and tried to ignore how somewhat disappointed she looked. “But I have been watching this really cool show recently. Don’t know if you’ve seen it, uh, Breaking Bad?” I asked, trying to ask if it rang any bells. “Oh, I’ve heard of that show!” She exclaimed, peeking up. “I haven’t watched it, but I’ve heard it’s really good. What’s it about?” She asked, genuinely wanting to know what I was talking about. Felt nice, I won’t lie. “Well, it’s about this high school chemistry teacher who gets cancer. He then enlists the help of one of his old students to teach him how to make meth, in order to pay for his treatment. But it quickly devolves into madness.” I explained, still somehow paying attention to the road. The freeway was kinda empty right now, so I guess it worked out for me. “Methamphetamine?!” Naomi gasped. “What—that’s—that’s unrealistic!” She said, and I imagined her as the nerd emoji. She was still cute, though. “That’s like. That’s like if Reed and Fernsworth started making meth.” I stayed silent for a few moments. “…well, I’m pretty sure some bean shift guy is making that…” I spoke quietly, mostly to myself. “What?” Naomi asked, tone normal. “What?” I asked back. … Naomi snorted. “Sure, Anon. But it’s good? It’s a good show?” She asked, now apparently more warmed up to the idea. “Yeah no! It’s really good,” I nodded. “I recommend it. I’m not sure if you’d be into it, but I’d say it’s worth a shot. Me and Naser like it a lot.” “That’s nice.” She nodded back. “And… you and Naser, huh?” She asked, seeming thoughtful. She moved her body slightly and turned to look out the window. The trees passed by us on all sides, the freeway having turned from the business area to more woodland. It was quite pretty. Wait, Naomi’s talking again.. “Naser. Did… we used to date, did you know that?” She asked, looking back over at me. I made momentary eye-contact. “Yeah, I heard about it. Mostly from Naser. He said it was kind of a while ago, but that you guys ended on good terms.” I answered what I knew. That’s what he had said, after all. It was a casual conversation we had had—it wasn’t some deep emotional thing. To him, his romance with Naomi was just that; a romance with Naomi. Nothing more, nothing less. But maybe Naomi thought it was more. “It… it did.” She sighed. “But it’s… just..” She trailed off. Was I gonna have to play therapist? What the hell is this? Is she still into him? “I’m… I’m not still in love with him, or anything, but…” Fuck. Either she read my mind or I had spoken aloud again. Damn it. I think it was the former, though. She stayed silent for a few moments, so I took the opportunity to speak up. “But..?” I asked, trying to push this along. I was curious. “…Anon?” She spoke suddenly, and exhaled, heightening and drawing more attention to her point. But not in an angry fashion. “Anon… what does love mean to you?” I did a double-take at that. “Wh-What?” I stuttered, not expecting the question. It was like cold water being dumped on me. “Say it again?” “What does love mean to you, Anon?” She asked, her voice soft. Curious. Wondrous. “I… I’m not sure.” I answered, shrugging. It was the honest truth, once again. I had no idea what love meant. And you can say ‘I thought you loved Naomi’, but… truth is, I don’t. Because I’ve never experienced love. I don’t know real love. I like Naomi, I have a crush on Naomi, but I can’t say I love her. Not yet. But… what do I say now? “I… I just… I can’t know. I’ve never experienced real love.” I said, echoing my thoughts. “So… I can’t know what real love is like. I—I can’t know what real love means.” I turned on my left blinker, trying to get around somebody. “What… what does love mean to you?” I asked, trying to gauge things. What was she trying to get out of me? “Love is… Anon, do you know what a love language is?” Another question. Another bad answer. “No, I don’t.” “A love language is… how you show affection. For me, my love language is based upon gestures.” She explained. She opened her mouth again, but WAIT!!! “How do you mean?” I interjected, before she could continue. She put a finger to her chin. “Like… okay, like. Imagine you and your partner are cold.” Partner? What am I, gay? “Both of you are freezing. And there’s only one blanket. The gesture that shows affection would be wrapping the blanket up around the other person.” She said, quietly. As if she were reminiscing. And wait, is she blushing? “To put it simply, if yo—I mean, if someone wrapped up a blanket on me, that would mean a lot to me. Because my love language is gestures. If people gesture things to me, do nice things, it… shows me that they care. Call it selfish, but… that’s just what I’ve learned about myself.” She shrugged, her shoulders slightly slumped. “I… don’t think that’s selfish.” I shook my head. I understood what she was saying, after all. Her shoulders somewhat perked up. “You want to feel cared for. That’s just how it is. I can’t blame you for wanting something like that.” I admitted honestly. And… she stayed silent after I had said that. Not an awkward silence, though. She seemed to be considering things. But in that time, I did a little thinking of my own. Something was… something was telling me that Naser had never been this person for her. He had never done the gestures. She had never felt properly loved. I think Naser loved her, of course, but… not how he was supposed to. I don’t think she’d admit that, though. But eventually… she spoke up. “…thank you, Anon.” She said simply. “Of course.” I replied on instinct. Maybe a little too excitedly, though, because she looked pistol-whipped at my enthusiasm. “S-Sorry, I mean. Yeah, no. You’re… you’re welcome, Naomi. I hope you…” I cringed. “I hope you find your gesture-r.” “…I hope you find that person too, Anon.” She replied, and gave me a warm smile. It… it hurt me. It hurt me a lot. …Because I have. I have found that person. I have found my gesturer. I found who I want to be with… …But she just doesn’t know it. ((((((()))))) Before I knew it, an hour had passed and the sun had set. I had turned on my headlights and was trying to survive by taking bites of this beef stick I had. It was pretty damn tasty, but it wasn’t helping me stay awake. I was trying desperately. I should’ve bought a Red Bull or something at that gas station. Screw me for wanting to watch my caffeine intake… PTING Huh? What was—wait, that was my phone. Who texted me? Naser: hey bro Naser: were gonna be watching a movie when you get here Naser: if you need to call any of us call rosa she doesnt believe in turning off her ringer Well, great. I don’t have Rosa’s number. Guess I’m kinda screwed if I need to call for help or something. Fuck… that’s so like Naser. He’s a good guy, but he can really be an airhead. Maybe that’s why we’re such good friends. I can be exactly the damn same… …speaking of my head, it was starting to do that bobbing thing, you know when you’re tired and your head goes up and down and up and down. AKA, the most dangerous thing to do while driving? Yeah. We were driving on a windy (like, twisty-turny windy. Not WINDy. You know what I mean?) road above a lake, and the turns were helping keep me slightly alert. I would’ve turned up my music, but… Naomi had fallen asleep around twenty minutes ago. I didn’t want to wake her up. I sighed. Come on now. It was possible. It was gonna be fine. I just had to make it to the campsite. It couldn’t be more than twenty minutes away now. I could do it. I could make it. We would be safe, we would watch the movie… everything would be fine. I would get to spend some time with Naomi, and Reed, and Naser, and Rosa… And… Naomi… Gosh, Naomi. She’s so… pretty… I like Naomi… Wait… left or right… Left.. Highway ending… That means we get off, right? …Naomi is so.. So, so pre… … … CRASH “AAAAGH!!!” I screamed in a very uncharacteristically high tone as the truck crashed through a wooden barrier. My fight or flight response instantly kicked in, but obviously, I can’t do EITHER. No fight and no flight, because goddamn it, I’m strapped into the seat of a fucking Tacoma, and said Tacoma is currently FLYING THROUGH THE AIR. The feeling of weightlessness didn’t last long, however, as the truck quickly landed on the dirt and began to slide down. I slammed on the brakes as dirt and rocks began to fly up and hit the windshield—Naomi screaming all the while. Guess she woke up! Fantastic. Now we can die together. It would be romantic if I was content with death at this moment. Hint fucking hint, I wasn’t, but this feeling of impending doom goes crazy… …Though, due to this feeling of impending death, I began to… pray. Yeah. At least, i prayed internally. I was never a religious guy, but I hoped and prayed to Raptor Jesus that we would be alright. Forget the truck, I just wanted us to be okay. I didn’t want to die. …and I… I didn’t want HER to die. WHAM Thankfully, after a couple seconds of pure chaos, we stopped moving. By way of… crashing headfirst into a redwood. Yeah—not my finest driving moment, I’ll be completely honest. Falling asleep at the wheel and getting us nearly killed, not exactly my highest… most-fun time. But hey. At least I’m awake now. That’s all that matters, right? Well, uh, fuck no. There were bigger things to worry about. Mostly… the cliff edge. This redwood was near the edge of the cliff, and I hadn’t exactly hit it dead on. We were… pretty close. Move the truck too much, and we both fall in. It wasn’t a big drop down into the lake—but principle of the thing, I don’t want to fall into a fucking lake! So… I had to take it slow. “N-Naomi,” I choked, pushing away the airbag. I think my finger was broken. Didn’t matter, though. I could barely feel anything as it was. That was a rough crash. “Naomi, are you okay?” I coughed a dry cough. “Y-Yeah,” She whispered, faintly. “Nothing feels broken. I just feel… like I got in a car accident.” She muttered, and I heard shuffling from her. She was trying to get rid of her own airbag. Either that, or she was trying to kick her door open. I laughed at her joke, but when she didn’t laugh back, I silenced myself. She probably wasn’t joking. I resigned myself to silence, and turned to face my own door. Thankfully, the handle seemed to work on mine. The door pushed open with a crunch, and I unbuckled my seat belt. As soon as I jumped out of the car, I collapsed under my own weight with a grunt. “Fuck.” My legs must’ve been asleep. Either that or completely broken. And I… hope it’s the former. I slowly stood up, using the truck as support, and walked over to Naomi’s side. I didn’t care about the damage; I just wanted to make sure Naomi could get out of the car. I had to fucking—I had to make sure she was okay! I can’t stress that enough. I hope I’m driving the fucking point home. If Naomi was stuck in the car, or worse, injured—it falls on me. And not just blame. Not just medical bills. But… the guilt. I did this. I crashed the truck. I was irresponsible. If she was badly hurt…? I don’t. I don’t know if I could ever forgive myself. I couldn’t forgive myself. Couldn’t even fathom the idea. Which is why I began to pray again. She said she was okay, but what if she wasn’t…? I grunted as I grabbed the door handle and wrenched it open, unsticking it from whatever it had been jammed in. The truck moved slightly, and my heart stopped. I gave it a few seconds…. and then I breathed a sigh of relief. I need to be careful. This is precarious. Too fucking precarious. We’re practically teetering on the edge now. I slowly moved my eyes from the front of the truck back to Naomi. When I finally got a good look at the orange parasaur, I felt myself sigh in relief once again. She wasn’t that injured. She had some cuts here and there, but no disfigurements, from what I could see… but still, I think I should check. “Naomi, are you alright? Do you need help?” I asked, trying to push her airbag out of the way. My voice was quiet. Calculated. “Y-Yes, please,” She grunted, and finally punctured the airbag. It began to deflate, and she turned to face me. We were both moving very slowly. The airbag was gone but she still seemed to be stuck. So… she held out her hand. …And my mind went blank. I stood there for a few seconds as the truck began to slowly lurch forward. “A-Anon?” She asked, her voice high. Frightened. Scared for her life. She knew not to scream, but she wanted to. And yet… I continued to stand there. “H-Hey, please, don’t…” She whispered. Tears began to well up in her eyes. “Don’t… don’t let me…” The truck moved again, and she yelped. “ANON!” She yelled, and began to thrash around. It caused the truck to move more, and I finally kicked back into my own head. What the fuck was I doing? Holy shit! I grabbed Naomi’s arm, and I quickly tore her from her seat. I threw her to the ground beside me, and I watched as the truck continued to teeter. I didn’t know if it was going to fall or not. It was barely moving, and things were creaking. Sounds I didn’t like were being made, and I had to hold myself in place. I couldn’t move. …When it stopped, I groaned, and fell to my knees. Thank fucking God. I turned my head to face Naomi, and spoke through heavy breaths. “N-Naomi, you… you okay..?” “Yeah, I’m okay, Anon.” She said flatly. “But my question is if YOU’RE okay.” She said, and snapped that one word. “H-Huh?” I asked, knowing that she wasn’t asking an actual question. It was rhetorical…? But she stood up, and pointed a finger at me. She faltered when she stood, and cried out in pain. I moved to help her, but she put a hand up to stop me. She didn’t want me near her. It… made me feel so ashamed. “Damn it, my leg…” She cried. Must’ve been broken… fuck. She balanced herself on a nearby tree after saying that. “But whatever. Forget it.” She snapped her head back up to me, and pointed again. “What the HELL WAS THAT, ANON?!” She yelled, and stomped her other foot. “I ALMOST DIED! AND YOU—YOU WERE JUST STANDING THERE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” She was screaming now. Fuck. “I, I don’t—“ I quickly muttered, getting up off my feet and beginning to back up. “I didn’t.” I tried to act cool, but it wasn’t working. I was out of my element here. “I didn’t mean to—“ Can I stop stuttering, please? “WHAT, DIDN’T MEAN TO SAVE ME?!” She accused, pointedly attempting to jab her finger into my chest. She was too far away, but the message was there. “DID YOU WANT TO LET ME DIE, Anon?” Her voice died out. “Did you—did you fucking… did you want to kill me?” She asked again, her voice breaking, and her swearing showing itself. She rarely swore. “N-No, Naomi, I… I would never..” I trailed off. She kept her finger pointed at my chest, clearly showing that I wasn’t doing a good job calming her down. I just… what do I say? None of what happened looked good. “Why would I ever do that?” “I don’t know.” She laughed, throwing her arms up into the air. “I really couldn’t tell you, Anon. Mostly because I thought we were friends.” Ouch. “…Mostly because I thought I could trust you.” …double ouch. “But I… we are friends!” I fought. It hurt to say it, but it was the truth. “We’re great friends. I love spending time with you, Naomi.” At that, she huffed, and then.. let her shoulders slump. “…then why didn’t you help me?” She asked, her voice so… weak. It felt so wrong. Normally Naomi was so… strong. Assertive. But now she was… she.. she was a girl. She was a teenage girl, a young lady—barely an adult. We had both just nearly died, and someone who she considered a friend, someone who she nearly poured her heart out to on the way here… That person had nearly let her die. I felt my knees weaken, and I fell to the ground once again. The grass cushioned my fall, but… fuck. What have I done? Why have I done it? What was wrong with me? Why did I… why did I freeze up so bad? Was it because she had held out her hand? Because she asked me to grab her hand?? What the fuck… what the fuck..?! Why was I such a fuck—why was I such a goddamn sperg! Her life was in danger, and I was— FUCK! “Just… shit, Anon.” Naomi grumbled, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m gonna build us a fire. It’s fucking freezing. Call 911 or something.” She muttered, and began to limp off. “I don’t care anymore.” I snapped my head up, and wiped the tears away. “Hey, no, you’re injured—“ I spoke quickly, slowly standing up. But then she put a hand up and it stopped me in my tracks, like last time. “No, Anon.” She said simply. “You’ve… you’ve done quite enough. Just… please, call somebody and get help. Do something right.” She spat, and it felt like I had gotten stabbed in the heart. “B-But…” I stuttered, watching as she walked away. …I… I had truly fucked up, hadn’t I? (((())) A while later, and the police had long been called. They were going to be at our location in… at this point, probably only fifteen minutes, which was just peachy. At least neither of us were bleeding too bad. I had been able to stave off most of the bleeding with some bandages made out of our clothes. At the cost of warmth, though. Ugh. Anyway, I had also decided to text Naser and Fang. Neither of them responded, though, so we were fucked. We either waited for one of them to go to the bathroom, or we waited the original forty-five minute estimation for the cops. And given how long it’s been, I’m sure it’s obvious which choice we made. I sighed as I sat down on a nearby log. Naomi was sitting on a different log, and taking in the warmth of her campfire. She seemed like she was freezing. And I was too, of course, but I… I couldn’t go over there. Not yet. I still need to think about what to say. Obviously, I have to apologize, but how? What should I do? What should I say? It’s been half-an-hour, she’s probably cooled down—but she’s definitely still upset. So how can I help her? How can I make her believe me? I mean, like—I have an idea, but it’s… risky. It’s super risky. Though I ask myself. What do I have to lose? I stood up slowly, and called out. “Naomi?” I asked. Here goes. This is the plunge… She jumped slightly. Didn’t expect me to talk, I guess. But she spoke up as well. “Yes, Anon?” She asked. Not annoyed. Not bothered. Just.. empty. It hurt my heart. “I’m… I’m sorry.” I spoke softly. Hopefully she could hear me over the crackling of the fire. Now… that’s step 1. “I… I know.” She answered, catching me slightly off-guard. Okay, wait, no, that’s good. “But it’s…” She continued, “What am I supposed to feel, Anon?” She asked, and I got closer to her. “What do I do? I don’t think you… I don’t… ugh.” She groaned. “I’m just so confused, is all. I don’t even know if I should be mad anymore. I don’t know what to think anymore.” As she spoke, I walked up to the bed of the truck, and slowly opened one of the totes. I reached inside and grabbed the first thing I could. Didn’t matter which one I was grabbing, I just knew we had them in there. Thankfully, the truck didn’t move too much, and I was able to pull out what I wanted. Object in hand, I turned back to Naomi. She was still looking at the fire. “I just…” I muttered, and walked up slowly behind her. I then put the blanket over her shoulders, and I held it there. “I’m… I’m so sorry.” I choked. “I… I don’t know what came over me, Naomi.” I let go of the blanket, and she continued to hold it. I walked over to the side of her form, and she turned her head to face me. I… I slowly got on one knee. “I don’t know what happened, but… please. Naomi, I..” Here goes. “…I like you. I have always liked you—for so long. Since I’ve known you, I’ve had such a crush on you.” I admitted. “And I.. maybe this seems sudden, but… it’s the truth. That’s why I froze up. That’s why I screwed up so bad. The.. the idea of holding your hand.” I chuckled. “It… it messed me up.” I gave her a smile. But then it fell. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want any of that to happen, and… I—I don’t care what you say to the confession.” I said honestly. “I just… I don’t want you to think I wanted you to get hurt. I would never want that. Never in my life, Naomi.” I finished. Well, there it is. My heart successfully poured out. What was my definition of love? I have no idea. But… it’s probably that. And Naomi, she… said nothing. She just stared at me for a few moments, and I felt myself start to panic. I had said too much, I had gone too far. She was confused—maybe even scared. I had made such a detrimental mistake. She would never want to talk again. After the ambulance arrives, she’ll get in and bar me from entering. She’ll tell them to leave me here— —A lone tear rolled down her face. She turned to look me in the eyes. “You’re not lying, are you?” She asked, her voice weak. I felt my heart drop. “No, never.” I said, fighting for my life. I hated seeing her cry. “I would never lie to you.” She sniffled, and wiped her eyes. “Good.” …And then she opened up the blanket. I… had to… take a second. To think about what she was implying. But she answered for me. “Come on.” She chuckled. “It’s cold.” I quickly stood up, and sat down next to her on the log. She wrapped the blanket around me, and I snuggled up close to her. It was… warm. It was perfect. This is exactly how I imagined snuggling with Naomi would be. Well, without the glass, and the cold, and the broken leg. But semantics. “Anon.” She spoke up, and sighed. “I don’t… it’ll be hard to forgive you.” Fuck. “I still have a hard time believing a lot of what happened earlier, you know? It’s all so… surreal. One minute, we’re driving, and the next… we’re falling off a cliff.” She laughed. “It’s just… hard to understand. And it’s hard to forgive you nearly letting me fall. But… I think I can… I can try.” She looked up at me, and… gave me a kiss on the nose. “Especially for my new boyfriend.” !!!!Defcon 6273!!!. What the FUCK DID SHE JUST SAY?!!?! “BOYFRIEND?!” I practically yelled, and practically jumped backwards. Naomi also recoiled, but probably because I yelled in her ear. But then she just blushed. “If… that’s what you wanted.” She spoke softly. “Y-Yes, of course!” I exclaimed. “I… I would love that.” I softened my own voice. “Good.” She nodded, and then leaned in closer. She parted her lips slightly, and… I took my queue. Our lips slowly touched, and I had to hold back a yell of pure happiness. A manly one, of course. I’m cool. But. Anyway—I was honestly trying my best to keep the happiness internal. It’s just… out of everything that happened tonight. The camping, the truck, the fight… this is what I expected the least. I never expected that by the end of the night, I would be kissing the one I had wanted for so, so long. I never expected that I would be kissing the perfect girl. I never expected… that my dumb plan would actually work. After a few moments, she pulled away, and then snuggled back into my chest. I held her close, and listened as the sounds of police sirens drew closer. Our time together wasn’t going to last much longer… and I… I didn’t want it to be over. I didn’t want this moment to end. Why would I have? This is what I had wanted for so long… “I don’t want it to end either, Anon.” Naomi whispered. “But hey. We get to see each other in the hospital. That counts for something, right?” She asked, and removed her head from my chest to give me a cheeky smile. I chuckled. “I guess so.” I smiled. It then slowly faded. “But still.” She shrugged, and leaned back into my chest. “I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts.” I didn’t say anything, instead opting to give a small nod. “…And Anon?” She asked. “Yeah?” I responded, my interest somewhat piqued. The lights were appearing in my vision now. But… Naomi turned her head to face me, so I looked away from the cop cars. “One of these days, we’ll find your love language.” She smiled, and gave me a peck on the nose. I just laughed. Whether or not that laugh turned into a slow cry, I’ll… let you decide. [POST-NOTES] Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Had fun writing it. https://youtu.be/yAR9p7MoQek And now it’s time to shill. But not for me. One of my best buds is writing a story for Danganronpa, if any of you are interested. He’s honestly an incredible writer, and if you’re interested in cute interactions/slice of life stuff, I’d recommend checking out Rooftop Lunches! He just uploaded a new chapter. Here’s a link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43246183/chapters/108699379#workskin It would mean a lot to me if you guys could show him some support! Anyway, that’s all for now. See you guys next time. I got big stuff planned.