Seldom Six Feet Under

Chapter Six: Try

          Night crept in through the day and took its place in the sky. The stars twinkled in careless rhythm. Watching it, Ruby wished she could do the same. She wished she could brush everything away and be one with the stars, moving to the careless rhythm of tranquility. The unsettled atmosphere around her made her apprehensive, causing so much commotion in her head and in the world around her. It was too much for her to even try to wrap her head around. Their anger, their problems, their fury, the fight in their hearts. But here? Staring up at the stars, there was only seclusion. Complete solitude from anything and anyone who may try to hurt and betray her. May she only be fooled with the belief that they were always present. For when they weren't, that was when she had to deal with the other two and the heat between them.

      However, the only heat as of now was in front of Allen, cooking soup over the flames and stirring it with a rusted spoon that was collected after a scavenge in the apartments. Ruby decided to join beside him, legs crisscrossed. He looked over at her and grinned warmly, in which she returned an identical look. Both pairs of eyes averted back to the flames and the soup. A cat had Allen's tongue. He had much he wanted to ask her, but was aware of her limits. So he just silently sat and stirred the soup around carelessly. Ruby tried to read his face. Something that spoke of uncertainty and a sense of anger. But Allen ever feeling anything otherwise was rare, especially when he was idle as such. His default mood was just rage, which both adolescents found hysterical. If he were ever asleep, focused, or just absentminded, his brow was always furred enough to scrunch his forehead into wrinkles. He never really frowned but rather kept his lips almost in a puckered pout. Putting this together, Ruby concluded that he was just out of it.

      A grin reformed on the man's lips when he espied her odd eyes intently locked on his beard covered face. His expression had completely warmed up, his eyes now more welcoming and less hostile. She couldn't help but smile back, infected with the contagious case of affection.

   "I've been meaning to ask," Allen lowered his head a little. "Did you talk to Noah at all?"

      Her grin dissipated, remembering how she left him. Broken. Hurt. Distraught. She gave him a slow, reluctant nod.

   "Does he understand why I let those people go...?" Allen asked, his tone deepening to something more concerned.

      She nodded again. However, deep inside, she didn't think he did. She didn't even understand. The two people were different, yes, they had armed men around them everywhere. But when it first came to saving Noah? It was a blur.

      He sighed and looked back at the pot. "He's so unbearable sometimes," he admitted. "Some days I just want to punch 'im riiiight in the face. Like he's a glowstick. Snap him and shake him until the light turns on."

      Ruby giggled silently, her shoulders bouncing. He chuckled a little, too. But that beautiful moment faded more quickly than either of them would have preferred.

   "I just want to protect the both of you, y'know?" He continued. "I hate having to be the bad guy in order to do it. I'm not fit to babysit kids. All I'm doing is playing it by ear," she nodded in understanding. "I truly mean well for that boy, I really do. I just..." He let out a rattled breath, folding his hands in front of him. "I struggle to connect with him. I don't understand him at all. He can be as dumb as a bag of hammers."

      She couldn't help but snicker silently at that. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You get it, right?" He asked. She nodded once more. "Good, good. I should probably talk to him, shouldn't I?" She cocked her eyebrows upwards. "Yeah, probably. Okay. Can you go get him for me? We'll chat over dinner... If soup passes."

      She smiled warmly and stood, trailing over towards the staircase. Allen sat up and leaned over, grabbing old bowls that he had been keeping nearby to pour the soup in. He took the pot off the crate and poured small ounces into the three bowls.