Original Fiction: Each Mirroring the Other
I've written original fiction. I am so surprised at myself you have no idea. And it's probably not so good, and I have no idea how much sense it'll make to people who are not in my head but... I'm gonna post it here anyway.
It's written for this prompt over at The Fall Fandom Free-for-All: Fic: Original Fiction. Something involving a BFF dynamic, especially if there are guns, bad guys, awesome gadgets or explosions. M/M, M/F or F/F are all fine, and I don't mind if the pair remains friends or ends up together.
Title: Each Mirroring the Other
Author. Caroline Hillestad aka caramelsilver
Excerpt: "How are we going to get out?" Lilly asked. Though the street was empty, she kept her voice low.
"We leave," Jack said with a shrug.
"How? He got people everywhere!"
"We steal a car and we leave. We hop a train and we leave. We catch a bus and we-"
"-leave,"
Each Mirroring the Other:
Sleeping. She had always loved sleeping. It was the one place where no one could get her and harm her. A place that was just hers and nobody could touch it with their dirty hands and taint it.
That was why it was very, very jarring to be woken up by Jack lifting her out of the bed and yelling at her to get dressed. They had been made.
**
They walked the streets in silence. One of the things she loved about him was that he knew when to shut up. Their silences were never awkward and it allowed her time to think.
They were in trouble.
"How are we going to get out?" Lilly asked. Though the street was empty, she kept her voice low.
"We leave," Jack said with a shrug.
"How? He got people everywhere!"
"We steal a car and we leave. We hop a train and we leave. We catch a bus and we-"
"-leave," she finished for him. Jack nodded.
"What about our stuff? He got the flat surrounded."
He gave her a look and raised an eyebrow. She hated it when he did that.
"But what about my gun?" she whined.
"I'll buy you a new one," he responded quickly.
"A better one?"
"Yes."
"Let's go then," she said, and took a hold of his arm. Together they quickly walked to the nearest bus-stop.
**
They rode the bus until the end station. From there they took a train. In the end they ended up in a small shit town.
"This place gives me the creeps," Lilly said as they walked into a motel. Except for the low hum of the soda machine in the corner and the sound of the tv the reception was silent and eerily empty except for the lone soul behind the desk.
The man behind the reception desk had greasy brown hair, small eyes and was chewing on a tooth-pick. He gave her a look that made her skin crawl.
Instinctively Jack threw a possessive arm around her waist and said, "A room, please."
"How many nights?" the man surly replied.
"One," Lilly answered before Jack had the chance. Jack looked at her questionably and she gave him a look that clearly said: We're not staying in this shit-hole a minute longer than we need too.
**
The room was small with the double bed taking up most of the space. She looked around before throwing her purse on the not so clean sheets while Jack was strapping off his gun. Looking at it with envy Lilly huffed and went to the bathroom.
When she came out Jack was lying on his back taking up most of the bed. He'd taken off his shoes and his stupid yellow socks looked even more stupid.
"You awake?" she asked.
"No," he said without opening his eyes.
Lilly grinned. "Let's sleep then. Take off your clothes. It's the only ones you have until we can buy some more tomorrow." She quickly took off her clothes and managed to hog most of the duvet while he undressed.
"Roll over you fat cow," he said as he got in too. A sharp elbow in the stomach had him groaning in pain and her rolling over with most of the covers. Let him freeze, the bastard.
**
They were running low on cash. He didn't have to tell her, the crease in his forehead when he paid for the new clothes was telling enough.
Pulling a con here would be impossible, and a missing wallet would probably end up with a town search, she thought. No, they needed to get out of here.
**
The sun was shining and everything looked disgustingly good and happy. Everywhere people was saying hello to each other and the waitress at the only diner in town knew the name of every one who walked through the door.
"Don't pinch up your nose like that," Jack commanded. "They might guess you find them disgusting." He was happily eating his apple pie and between each forkful he exclaimed how it was the best pie he had ever eaten. Lilly thought the waitress would soon explode with pride.
"Such a handsome young man," she exclaimed when she came over to top off their coffee. "Where are you from, dears?" she inquired with a sunny smile.
"Canada," Lilly lied.
"That's nice. And what are you doing here in Sunny Row?" the waitress continued to ask.
Sunny Row? Was that really the name of this no-place of a town? She hadn't really paid attention to where they were when the bus dropped them off late last night.
She opened her mouth to comment, but Jack took hold of her hand and squeezed it hard preventing Lilly from saying anything rude.
"Just passing through," Jack said with a warm smile.
Noticing their linked hands, the waitress gave them an even sunnier smile. "How lovely! Let me know if you need anything else."
**
"I miss my gun," she said as they packed up their few belongings. Picking up the bible, she riffled through it before stuffing it down the cheap duffel bag she'd bought earlier.
Jack smirked at her while arranging his in the shoulder holster that made him able to carry it concealed. It was not like they were allowed to carry firearms. "That's what happens when you don't carry your gun at all times like I've told you a million times to do!"
"It's not like I had the time to grab it when you basically shoved me through the window and out the fire escape!" she snapped.
Shrugging he said, "It was you or the gun. I chose to sacrifice the gun, if that's okay with you." His voice was sarcastic.
She sniffed. "I loved that gun, you know."
"Well, I love you," was the simple reply.
**
The moment they left the small town Lilly visibly relaxed.
Jack laughed. "Was it that bad?" he asked teasingly.
"It reminded me too much of home."
The mirth vanished from his face and he nodded in sympathy.
**
In the next town, which was much bigger than the last one, they had to get a hold of more money. Not in the mood to stage a large game they went to church.
"Don't you feel bad about stealing little old women's wallet while they're praying to God?" Jack said, while tying his tie.
Jack was, as he himself put it, mildly religious. Or as Lilly put it: religious when it suited him. Picking pockets in church was one of the things he hated to do, and only agreed doing it when they were in a real pinch.
"Oh, just sit down and smile prettily to the old ladies and your blue eyes will drag them to us like moths to flame. You won't even have to move," Lilly said. She brushed her blonde hair and put on a headband. "Do I look suitably innocent now?" she turned and asked.
Jack looked her up and down and said, "Change the shoes."
She looked down. "Why?"
"Red shoes in church are not proper," he said, reverting back to his posh accent that he'd tried to get rid of for years.
"Says who?"
"My Gran," he said.
Shaking her head in laughter, she lopped off her red heels and put on some sensible black ones instead.
**
Only at night did she feel any regret or suffer from a bad conscience.
"Do you think we're going to hell?" she asked one night. Her head was on his chest because the sound of his beating heart kept her grounded and kept her demons at bay.
At first she didn't think he'd heard her, or maybe he was just going to ignore her. Then he said, "I didn't think you believed in God?" Avoiding the question by asking another one.
"But you do. Do you think we're going to hell?" she asked again, avoiding his question too.
"I hope not," he said after a moment of silence, stroking her hair.
"Do you ever think about going home?" she asked after a while.
"Back to London?" He was silent, mulling over the question. "It's too dangerous for us there."
"Yeah, but do you ever think about? Don't you miss your family?" Her voice was wistful, filled with longing for a time that didn't exist anymore. While he had a large family that missed him, she didn't.
His hand stopped stroking her hair for a minute before continuing. "Sleep now, Lils."
**
The new gun was unfamiliar in her hands, but her aim was still straight as she aimed it at their attacker.
"How did you find us?" she grit out between her clenched teeth. She had to remind herself that they needed the information he could give them and as such rendering him unconscious would do her no good. Even if it would feel bloody marvellous.
Their attacker just smirked and refused to open his mouth. The cut that she'd inflicted upon him by punching him with her ring hand was bleeding down his face and streaking his beard red.
When the answer to her question never came Jack kicked him in the back and the man fell facedown into the wet tarmac. "The lady asked you a question," Jack angrily said and pointed his gun at the back of his head.
The bastard started laughing which just made Jack even angrier. He quickly holstered his gun, grabbed his hair and pulled him up from the ground exposing his neck. The next second Jack had a knife at his throat. "Answer the fucking question!"
Making a choking sound the man managed to choke out, "Credit cards."
Lilly exchanged a glance with Jack. Fuck. With a hard blow to the back of his scull the fucker was rendered unconscious and with expert hands they had him tied up within minutes. Just before they were about to go, Lilly stopped and as an insurance she blew off his kneecaps. It would take a while before he could chase after them again.
**
The ring had been a gift. It had been given in the same manner he gave all gifts to her: Thrown at her head with the demand that she'd wear it. And she did.
**
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jack yelled as he paced their small flat. "How the hell did he manage to track us through brand new credit cards that we got under fake names?" He ran his fingers through his hair even though it there wasn't much to run it through. After they went back to the city after four months on the road he'd buzz cut off his lovely dark hair. She'd been pretty sad to see it go, but he still looked pretty, just different.
"I don't know J. I just don't know," she answered.
All the windows were open and the wind made the curtains billow. The breeze helped her cool down and reminded her that as long as she had Jack it didn't matter where she were.
After all they hadn't planned to stay here long anyway. The only reason they had come back was to buy things they couldn't get in the small towns.
After all they could just leave.
**
The last rays of the sunset warmed her neck as she but the last of her belongings in the 'borrowed' car.
Jack, in his dark sunglasses, looked incredibly beautiful in the dying light of the sun. "You ready to go?" he asked, throwing the keys from one hand to the other, idly waiting to leave.
Lilly looked around the city that got rapidly darker by the minute. They would never come back here. Not at least until he was dead. And who knew when that would happen?
She nodded and silently got into the car. Her gun rested reassuringly at her hip and her knife was strapped securely around her calf. They would go north. Nobody expected them to run north towards the cold. But she missed snow. Snow would be good.
Fin.
I totally think I'll write more. Now tell me what you think. Is it understandable, or just a jumble and wtf is this C?
It's written for this prompt over at The Fall Fandom Free-for-All: Fic: Original Fiction. Something involving a BFF dynamic, especially if there are guns, bad guys, awesome gadgets or explosions. M/M, M/F or F/F are all fine, and I don't mind if the pair remains friends or ends up together.
Title: Each Mirroring the Other
Author. Caroline Hillestad aka caramelsilver
Excerpt: "How are we going to get out?" Lilly asked. Though the street was empty, she kept her voice low.
"We leave," Jack said with a shrug.
"How? He got people everywhere!"
"We steal a car and we leave. We hop a train and we leave. We catch a bus and we-"
"-leave,"
Each Mirroring the Other:
Sleeping. She had always loved sleeping. It was the one place where no one could get her and harm her. A place that was just hers and nobody could touch it with their dirty hands and taint it.
That was why it was very, very jarring to be woken up by Jack lifting her out of the bed and yelling at her to get dressed. They had been made.
**
They walked the streets in silence. One of the things she loved about him was that he knew when to shut up. Their silences were never awkward and it allowed her time to think.
They were in trouble.
"How are we going to get out?" Lilly asked. Though the street was empty, she kept her voice low.
"We leave," Jack said with a shrug.
"How? He got people everywhere!"
"We steal a car and we leave. We hop a train and we leave. We catch a bus and we-"
"-leave," she finished for him. Jack nodded.
"What about our stuff? He got the flat surrounded."
He gave her a look and raised an eyebrow. She hated it when he did that.
"But what about my gun?" she whined.
"I'll buy you a new one," he responded quickly.
"A better one?"
"Yes."
"Let's go then," she said, and took a hold of his arm. Together they quickly walked to the nearest bus-stop.
**
They rode the bus until the end station. From there they took a train. In the end they ended up in a small shit town.
"This place gives me the creeps," Lilly said as they walked into a motel. Except for the low hum of the soda machine in the corner and the sound of the tv the reception was silent and eerily empty except for the lone soul behind the desk.
The man behind the reception desk had greasy brown hair, small eyes and was chewing on a tooth-pick. He gave her a look that made her skin crawl.
Instinctively Jack threw a possessive arm around her waist and said, "A room, please."
"How many nights?" the man surly replied.
"One," Lilly answered before Jack had the chance. Jack looked at her questionably and she gave him a look that clearly said: We're not staying in this shit-hole a minute longer than we need too.
**
The room was small with the double bed taking up most of the space. She looked around before throwing her purse on the not so clean sheets while Jack was strapping off his gun. Looking at it with envy Lilly huffed and went to the bathroom.
When she came out Jack was lying on his back taking up most of the bed. He'd taken off his shoes and his stupid yellow socks looked even more stupid.
"You awake?" she asked.
"No," he said without opening his eyes.
Lilly grinned. "Let's sleep then. Take off your clothes. It's the only ones you have until we can buy some more tomorrow." She quickly took off her clothes and managed to hog most of the duvet while he undressed.
"Roll over you fat cow," he said as he got in too. A sharp elbow in the stomach had him groaning in pain and her rolling over with most of the covers. Let him freeze, the bastard.
**
They were running low on cash. He didn't have to tell her, the crease in his forehead when he paid for the new clothes was telling enough.
Pulling a con here would be impossible, and a missing wallet would probably end up with a town search, she thought. No, they needed to get out of here.
**
The sun was shining and everything looked disgustingly good and happy. Everywhere people was saying hello to each other and the waitress at the only diner in town knew the name of every one who walked through the door.
"Don't pinch up your nose like that," Jack commanded. "They might guess you find them disgusting." He was happily eating his apple pie and between each forkful he exclaimed how it was the best pie he had ever eaten. Lilly thought the waitress would soon explode with pride.
"Such a handsome young man," she exclaimed when she came over to top off their coffee. "Where are you from, dears?" she inquired with a sunny smile.
"Canada," Lilly lied.
"That's nice. And what are you doing here in Sunny Row?" the waitress continued to ask.
Sunny Row? Was that really the name of this no-place of a town? She hadn't really paid attention to where they were when the bus dropped them off late last night.
She opened her mouth to comment, but Jack took hold of her hand and squeezed it hard preventing Lilly from saying anything rude.
"Just passing through," Jack said with a warm smile.
Noticing their linked hands, the waitress gave them an even sunnier smile. "How lovely! Let me know if you need anything else."
**
"I miss my gun," she said as they packed up their few belongings. Picking up the bible, she riffled through it before stuffing it down the cheap duffel bag she'd bought earlier.
Jack smirked at her while arranging his in the shoulder holster that made him able to carry it concealed. It was not like they were allowed to carry firearms. "That's what happens when you don't carry your gun at all times like I've told you a million times to do!"
"It's not like I had the time to grab it when you basically shoved me through the window and out the fire escape!" she snapped.
Shrugging he said, "It was you or the gun. I chose to sacrifice the gun, if that's okay with you." His voice was sarcastic.
She sniffed. "I loved that gun, you know."
"Well, I love you," was the simple reply.
**
The moment they left the small town Lilly visibly relaxed.
Jack laughed. "Was it that bad?" he asked teasingly.
"It reminded me too much of home."
The mirth vanished from his face and he nodded in sympathy.
**
In the next town, which was much bigger than the last one, they had to get a hold of more money. Not in the mood to stage a large game they went to church.
"Don't you feel bad about stealing little old women's wallet while they're praying to God?" Jack said, while tying his tie.
Jack was, as he himself put it, mildly religious. Or as Lilly put it: religious when it suited him. Picking pockets in church was one of the things he hated to do, and only agreed doing it when they were in a real pinch.
"Oh, just sit down and smile prettily to the old ladies and your blue eyes will drag them to us like moths to flame. You won't even have to move," Lilly said. She brushed her blonde hair and put on a headband. "Do I look suitably innocent now?" she turned and asked.
Jack looked her up and down and said, "Change the shoes."
She looked down. "Why?"
"Red shoes in church are not proper," he said, reverting back to his posh accent that he'd tried to get rid of for years.
"Says who?"
"My Gran," he said.
Shaking her head in laughter, she lopped off her red heels and put on some sensible black ones instead.
**
Only at night did she feel any regret or suffer from a bad conscience.
"Do you think we're going to hell?" she asked one night. Her head was on his chest because the sound of his beating heart kept her grounded and kept her demons at bay.
At first she didn't think he'd heard her, or maybe he was just going to ignore her. Then he said, "I didn't think you believed in God?" Avoiding the question by asking another one.
"But you do. Do you think we're going to hell?" she asked again, avoiding his question too.
"I hope not," he said after a moment of silence, stroking her hair.
"Do you ever think about going home?" she asked after a while.
"Back to London?" He was silent, mulling over the question. "It's too dangerous for us there."
"Yeah, but do you ever think about? Don't you miss your family?" Her voice was wistful, filled with longing for a time that didn't exist anymore. While he had a large family that missed him, she didn't.
His hand stopped stroking her hair for a minute before continuing. "Sleep now, Lils."
**
The new gun was unfamiliar in her hands, but her aim was still straight as she aimed it at their attacker.
"How did you find us?" she grit out between her clenched teeth. She had to remind herself that they needed the information he could give them and as such rendering him unconscious would do her no good. Even if it would feel bloody marvellous.
Their attacker just smirked and refused to open his mouth. The cut that she'd inflicted upon him by punching him with her ring hand was bleeding down his face and streaking his beard red.
When the answer to her question never came Jack kicked him in the back and the man fell facedown into the wet tarmac. "The lady asked you a question," Jack angrily said and pointed his gun at the back of his head.
The bastard started laughing which just made Jack even angrier. He quickly holstered his gun, grabbed his hair and pulled him up from the ground exposing his neck. The next second Jack had a knife at his throat. "Answer the fucking question!"
Making a choking sound the man managed to choke out, "Credit cards."
Lilly exchanged a glance with Jack. Fuck. With a hard blow to the back of his scull the fucker was rendered unconscious and with expert hands they had him tied up within minutes. Just before they were about to go, Lilly stopped and as an insurance she blew off his kneecaps. It would take a while before he could chase after them again.
**
The ring had been a gift. It had been given in the same manner he gave all gifts to her: Thrown at her head with the demand that she'd wear it. And she did.
**
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jack yelled as he paced their small flat. "How the hell did he manage to track us through brand new credit cards that we got under fake names?" He ran his fingers through his hair even though it there wasn't much to run it through. After they went back to the city after four months on the road he'd buzz cut off his lovely dark hair. She'd been pretty sad to see it go, but he still looked pretty, just different.
"I don't know J. I just don't know," she answered.
All the windows were open and the wind made the curtains billow. The breeze helped her cool down and reminded her that as long as she had Jack it didn't matter where she were.
After all they hadn't planned to stay here long anyway. The only reason they had come back was to buy things they couldn't get in the small towns.
After all they could just leave.
**
The last rays of the sunset warmed her neck as she but the last of her belongings in the 'borrowed' car.
Jack, in his dark sunglasses, looked incredibly beautiful in the dying light of the sun. "You ready to go?" he asked, throwing the keys from one hand to the other, idly waiting to leave.
Lilly looked around the city that got rapidly darker by the minute. They would never come back here. Not at least until he was dead. And who knew when that would happen?
She nodded and silently got into the car. Her gun rested reassuringly at her hip and her knife was strapped securely around her calf. They would go north. Nobody expected them to run north towards the cold. But she missed snow. Snow would be good.
Fin.
I totally think I'll write more. Now tell me what you think. Is it understandable, or just a jumble and wtf is this C?