Mini Stories and One Shots

Gallagher Girls Fanfiction: "Run Away With Me."

Zach POV:

There are two sides to life; the knowledgeable side and the questioning side. Not to mention the people in the middle. Up till now, I’d always remained on the knowledgeable side; learning things in advance and making sure I had my defence act up. Now standing here and watching my Gallagher Girl, seeing ash that didn’t seem to disappear, and remembering,  I seemed to be on the questioning side.

So I just studied her.

The markings on the board had long been rubbed off and my mother had disappeared. Again.

I took careful steps forward and I knew she had seen me. The way her eyes flickered to the left slightly gave it away. She never looked at me, never started sobbing, never did anything. She just said, “He should be awake now, shouldn’t he? He’s never going to wake up,” as if she knew it. Because, as a quite experienced operative that had ‘been around the field’, I knew that after going through the toughest of missions, hope was just that little more far fetched.

“Of course he is,” I said, looking down. Maybe if I said it aloud, it would happen.

The wind picked up her brown locks and blew them to the side lightly. “This is never going to be over.”

My eyes didn’t stray from the ground. “Of course it is.” – Chances are, it wouldn’t.

“This is—”

But I never let her finish, I didn’t want to hear how the odds were most definitely not in our favour. Because I knew this already, and the last person that needed convincing, was me. “Cammie, listen to me,” I ordered, just itching to grab her face in my hands. But, knowing her, she was a lot more fragile than she looked. “Don’t talk – listen. This isn’t going to stop on its own. We can’t stay here – we can’t hide forever.”

“She’s your mother?”

I recoiled. Mother. She had lost that title a long time ago. “I’m sorry, Cam. I—”

“You could have told me.”

I shook my head profusely. “No.” Cammie would never understand. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t lose the one person who –” I stared at Cammie, watching the way she breathed softly and looked over at the sky, and watched the pigeons. “—who didn’t see her when they looked at me.” I shook my head again. “I couldn’t lose that.”

She asked the one question I so desperately wanted to answer. “Is my father alive, Zach?”

I answered honestly: “I don’t know.”

“She said he is.”

I stared at her face, and watched sadness cloud her eyes. “She lies,” I said simply, not wanting to talk about her any more.

“We should be dead,” she said as if I didn’t already know. As if I didn’t understand how narrowly we cheated death.

“I know.”

I edged closer, wanting to touch her, to reassure her. I wanted to kiss her and not worry about how prohibited it was. I wanted that.

“Mr Solomon isn’t waking up.”

I neared closer. “We don’t know that.”

“Why does everyone get hurt but me?” she asked and I looked down.

“And me,” I added, laughing bitterly.

She finally turned to look at me. She searched my eyes, and I searched hers. “I can’t go to Nebraska this summer. It’s not safe for Grandma and Grandpa to be near me.” Her hands wandered closer to mine, and I wanted to hold them and tell her everything was going to be okay. But I didn’t take my chances, afraid she would crumble before my eyes.

“Where will you go?”

“I don’t know.”

“What will you do?”

She shook her head and looked out to the skies. “I don’t know.”

By then, I couldn’t help it. I kissed her. Everything I wanted to put in words went into that kiss; everything that I should have said, but didn’t, came out of my lips in an entirely different language. I could speak fourteen different native tongues, and this one was only something Cammie could ever understand.

“Run away with me,” I breathed out, not knowing I’d said what I’d been thinking since I saw her in a wheelchair, wearing ash-stained clothes.

Her lips met mine again.

I pulled back and put my two palms against the edges of her face, looking into her eyes. “Gallagher Girl, we can go. We can run. We can get off the grid and stay off the grid until its safe for everyone.” I moved in closer. “We can keep each other safe.”

“What are you saying, Zach?” she asked, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

“We’re the only two people in the world the Circle will think twice about killing.”

“That’s not funny.”

I gripped her head a little tighter. “I’m not laughing.” I breathed out, looking at her intensely. “You’re right, Cammie – no one’s safe with us around. Listen to me, Cammie, we could do this. We’ve been training our whole life to do this.”

“I can’t,” she said fiercely, and I found myself feeling an unknown emotion prick my heart. “No. No. My mother—”

“Would understand,” I interjected in a firm – almost snappy – voice. “I’m surprised she hasn’t had the same idea.” Actually, I’m not. Cammie’s mom cared more about Cammie’s wellbeing rather than jeopardising the consequential details of her agent life. But Gallagher Girl didn’t need to know that. “If no one knows where we are, then no one can find us.”

I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders as I whispered, “We. Can. Do. This.” Because I knew we could.

When she kissed me lightly, I already knew her answer. “I can’t leave with you, Zach.”

I wrapped my arms around her and held her gently, replying with a quiet, “I know.” Because I did. And maybe that was the hardest thing about being a spy – knowing. 

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I really liked writing this one. I got really lost in it and felt every emotion; and now, I have a newfound respect for Zach. Because I think I've uncovered the boy behind the smirk. Thank you, Ally Carter, for helping me feel a totally weird connection with your book characters. Dedicated to thatcrazybookworm, for suggesting I should write this. I was originally not going to write this in fear I wouldn't do it justice, I really hope I have, though. I'm not Ally Carter, I know, but I hope you all enjoyed! Please vote and comment! Thanks!