Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️TWENTY: ROOFTOP CONFESSIONS⚠️

You woke up the next morning while it was still dark.

You got to your feet, stretching, and wondering if you should stay in your room or go get something to eat. Your stomach rumbled and you decided on the latter, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

You stepped out of your room, closing the door softly behind you and peering out into the hall. Immediately you saw someone standing there, their back to you, a flickering light illuminating the dark hall.

"Hello?" you called out, not awake enough to be alarmed. The person turned around, light spilling onto their face, and you realized it was Eugene with a lighter in his hand. He rushed towards you, looking around nervously.

"What's wrong?" you asked him in a tired voice.

"Something came to my door," he said, and you realized his hands were trembling. He quickly looked behind him, holding out the light to see better.

"What do you mean?" you pressed, beginning to feel more awake. You glanced down at the far end of the hall, fear starting to creep in.

"I heard footsteps. And then the door opened a crack, and something was staring at me," he explained. "I couldn't see who it was because I was facing away pretending to be asleep, but I could feel them."

"Maybe it was just one of the others," you offered, turning to walk to the storage room.

"You think so?" he asked, following you. "Still seems pretty weird to me."

"Well, we could ask during breakfast," you pointed out, pushing into the storage room.

Eugene shook his head. "I don't want to make anyone suspicious. If it was just one of the guys, then it's probably nothing. But if it happens again, I'm running out into the hall screaming."

You giggled at the mental image, searching the food shelf for something you felt like for breakfast. You found a package of bagels off to the side and opened it, taking one. Eugene opted for a bag of nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips instead.

You stepped back into the hall, looking outside the windows to see the sky beginning to brighten. The only sounds were the peaceful chirps of crickets. Until Eugene tore open his bag of chips and crunched on one loudly.

"Sorry," he said, trying to chew quieter.

The both of you went over to 1-C, looking inside, and as you thought, it was empty.

"Looks like we have free reign," Eugene said, seeming lost in thought. "How about we go up to the roof? I don't think you've been there yet."

"I haven't," you confirmed, following him to the stairs. It was a little bit of a trek to get to the top, and once you got up there a chilly breeze washed over your skin.

"It's cold," you said, your teeth beginning to chatter. You could see for miles from up here, even the sun rising from the horizon.

Eugene sat over by the fence around the edge of the rooftop, waving for you to join him. You lowered yourself down, the floor even colder than the air.

"I'm gonna freeze out here," you complained, scooting closer to Eugene for warmth. He was tucking into his chips, seeming to enjoy the fresh air.

"Sometimes, if I come up here, I can convince myself the virus never happened," he said. "It's so quiet and peaceful."

You nodded, but you could never forget about the virus. All of the things you lost to it, yet on the same coin, all of the friends you made because of it.

You were almost finished with your bagel before you even realized, the sun well up in the sky. The two of you sat in quiet, enjoying your breakfasts.

"I don't wanna die," he said suddenly, looking out at the city. "I don't want any of us to die. Not to the zombies. You guys are all I got now."

Eugene studied the cheese dust on his fingers, and you thought you saw his eyes gloss over.

"We won't," you told him, putting a hand on his back. "We're gonna survive this thing, okay? We're gonna make it until there's a cure, and then when the world goes back to normal, we'll buy a mansion and we'll all live there, together until the very end."

Eugene nodded, swallowing hard. "Wow, look at the sun," he said, and when you did you saw him wipe his eyes out of the corner of your vision.

"We should head back, so the others don't nag us," he said, standing up and holding out a cheesy hand for you to grab. You finished the rest of the bagel, taking it and standing, wiping the dust off on your shirt. Eugene did the same on his jacket, and the both of you headed back towards the stairs, climbing down.

You heard voices coming from 1-C and knew the others were awake. Opening the door gently, you peeked in, seeing everyone sitting and eating breakfast.

"Well come on in, don't spy on us. That's creepy," Jay scolded, and you pushed open the door, walking in with Eugene at your heels.

"Where'd you guys go? I was worried for a moment," someone spoke up, and you realized it was Sue, who was writing something in a small notebook. Lawrence was next to her, scratching things onto the map from before with a pencil.

"We went to the rooftop," Eugene said nonchalantly, plopping down next to Zion, who put his foot on the back of the younger's chair and pushed him away.

"I'd like for everyone to be accounted for at breakfast," Lawrence said sternly, not looking up from what he was doing. "That way we know everyone's still here."

"S-shouldn't they be punished for breaking the rules?" came Hailey's voice. "What if (Y/n) was... p-planning something?"

"I'll take their word for it this time," Lawrence dismissed. "But remember, rules are in place for everyone's safety. Try to consider that."

Sue mumbled something to him, pointing at her notebook, and he nodded, marking the map. They seemed busy today.

Hailey looked a little disappointed, her worried eyes finding yours for a second before looking away. It kind of hurt your feelings that she acted so suspicious of you, but at the same time, you couldn't actually blame her. To her you were still a stranger.

You sat between Harry and Ethan, slouching, and Harry gave you a smile with Ethan pat you on the head.

"What are they working on anyways?" you asked Harry, looking over at Lawrence and Sue, concentrated on what they were doing.

Harry shrugged. "They used to work on it before we even even met you. I guess now that you're settled in they're picking it up again," he said, turning to look as well.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's for the better of all of us," Harry added with a smile. He stood up, brushing crumbs off of his shirt. "Since we have some free time, want to come outside with me to take some pictures?"

You nodded, the thought exciting you. You got up as well, waving to Ethan before following Harry out the door. Taking pictures would probably help clear your mind, considering all the things that had happened recently.

"(Y/n)? You okay?" Harry asked, and you realized you had stopped in the doorway of 1-C, lingering.

"Coming," you called, hurrying after him, thinking you were just going to take pictures.

It didn't go that way.