Junebug

Chapter 12

You waited patiently in the lab building for Professor Jones, fidgeting nervously as the blonde showed up on time as usual.

"Hey, professor," You started, looking at the Professor. "I was wondering if I could spend extra time in the game today?" You questioned slowly. She'd allowed it before, but only a little extra time– for this, you'd need at least several more hours. "We've got a mission and I don't wanna, y'know...suddenly disappear in the middle of a firefight." You quickly added, as if that would make your case better.

Professor Jones paused, her brows furrowing in thought for a few moments.

"I think we can work something out, yeah." She nodded in confirmation, and a wide smile formed on your lips. The two of you walked back into the lab.

"How long were you thinking?" She asked, blue eyes scanning over you for a moment as she resumed your conversation.

You thought. Fuck, this meant doing mental math. If the flight over would take two hours, and allowing two more hours for mission shenanigans, and then adding the-

"6 hours?" You spoke meekly.

"In-game or real world hours?" She asked, eyebrows raised.
"In-game hours," You assured. "I just need enough time to get through the mission."

Professor Jones stood silent for a few moments, and you could see her gaze flicker to Ben across the lab.
"I dunno, kid. You think you're ready?" She spoke, her concerned eyes looking back at you.

You nodded quickly, without even thinking.

"Yeah, definitely! I did 3 hours last time, 6 should be a breeze!" You insisted, though it was partially you trying to convince yourself that you could.

You still hadn't been getting good sleep and while it hadn't worsened, you didn't know how spending that much time in the game would affect you even with an infinite supply of fruit.

Professor Jones pursed her lips before slowly nodding her head. "Keep us updated on comms, if you start feeling di-"
"Yeah, yeah, if I start feeling dizzy or sick I'll let you know!" You interrupted, excitement coursing through you as she agreed.

A weak smile formed on her lips before she handed off your ear piece and ushered you to the testing chamber.

-

When 6:00 pm- uh, I mean, 1800 hours rolled around on base, you were ready for whatever this mission had to throw at you.

You sat, geared up alongside everyone else, in the back of Nikolai's helicopter.

Gaz, who sat to your left, nudged you with his elbow. Your eyes flicked over to him, and he held out a comms earpiece for you to take.

"Time to take your training wheels off," he joked, glancing at the earpiece you'd been sporting for the past week.

"Oh, right..." You muttered, unsure about the idea of leaving your communication with the Professor out of the mission. You hesitated for a moment before taking the earpiece out, replacing it with the one Gaz held out for you.

You looked down at the one the Professor had given you, pocketing it to keep it safe– at least it was still on-hand should you need it, which brought slight reassurance to you.

Now it was really starting to feel real.

You couldn't help the tremble in your hands or the bounce of your leg as Price signaled for Nikolai to take off, the sound of the blades powering up seeming almost deafening until you were handed soundproof headphones equipped with a microphone.

You couldn't help how your stomach lurched as the heli pulled up from the landing pad, now airborne and headed towards Norway.

Soap seemed to notice the nervous jitters, mostly because your knee hit his every time it bounced up. Your head snapped to look at him when you felt his hand lay on your leg, holding it in place.