Elena

Oh, how I hate anxiety.

I'm not a person who gets anxious a lot, only when I know I messed up badly and the future I've planned out isn't the one I want anymore, and basically everything I've built in the past few months is about to slip through my fingers. Yes, I have that type of anxiety.

"Oh come on Lenny, what would Jesus do!" Alex yells as he ducks down, the knife missing him by a few centimetres. 

"You can ask him when I'm done with you!" I threaten him and lunge at him, making him throw himself out of my way, his body hitting the floor of my room with a heavy thud.

He lifts his hands in defence, lying on his back. "Listen, Lenny, I wasn't going to tell him, I swear! Why do you always use Tinkerblade when you're pissed, that's not cool! Also, dragging me here by my ear was so unnecessary and painful, you're honestly so violent sometimes and I think we should start working on that problem, maybe some yoga would help-"

"Shut up!" I tackle him, sitting on top of his chest so he can't move, trapping his arms with my legs. "I won't repeat this twice Alex. Stay away from Harry." I make sure to emphasise each word, my eyes looking straight into his. "Don't try to interfere in my relation with him, especially not today."

"He interfered between us," he mutters. "We had plans, Elena. I've never seen you behave this way, you look like a lovesick puppy, what the hell?" I frown and look away. "Holy crap on a cracker, you love him, don't you?" His mouth gapes, an angry expression settling on his face. "No attachments to anyone, remember?"

"Oh sure, because I have control over who I'm going to fall for." I jab my finger into his chest. "We're going to Wildfire today and we're going to strike that deal. And we're going to make sure that Hazard wins. Is that clear?"

"Okay, first of all, get off me, I can't breathe." He wheezes dramatically, trying to free his arms.

I roll my eyes and stand up, but not before pinching his side, making him groan in pain and almost throw me off him as he twists his body in a weird angle. He stands up and presses his palm to his chest, trying to catch his breath as if he was running for half an hour straight.

"I think I saw grandma. . ." he mumbles, being melodramatic as per usual.

I quickly grab my knife jammed into the door, turning to Alex. His eyes widen and he takes a step back as he realises I'm done with joking around. This isn't a laughing matter, nothing about our pending fate is.

"Alright, alright," he mutters and I lower the knife, glaring at him expectantly. "I don't understand this. Why do you suddenly care if Hazard wins, that wasn't part of the deal. We hand them over and what happens next isn't our concern since we'd be gone."

"How can you say that so calmly? What about Louis? Niall, Liam? Aren't they your friends? And Jess? How can you not care about them?" I look at him in disbelief, throwing my hands up in frustration.

"I'm not saying I don't care!" He snaps. "I care, I care too much! I'm always the one to feel everything, you have the ability to shut it all out, but not me! Just this once, I wanted to stay unaffected, I wanted the future we had talked about and planned so carefully, I wanted us to be safe like you promised to dad. I can't afford myself to cave in, I can't."

"Things change, Alex. Life never goes according to plan," I say with a sigh, letting some of my anger to dissolve. "Yes, we had our future envisioned, but neither of us took into account meeting them - these wonderful people who now need our help. We offered it and I'm not going to back down. I'll tell Harry the whole truth today, but after the deal and after I make sure no one tries to take advantage of Hazard. I'm afraid he'd pass up on this opportunity otherwise, and I can't let that happen."

His shoulders sag in defeat and he looks away, a deep frown on his face. "Whenever we get involved in something, shit happens. Actually, double shit since we're twins."

"I know, but we have to do the right thing. Come on this is so unnatural, usually, you're the one stopping me from doing something stupid."

"Usually we're a team no matter what," he says sadly. "But alright, if that's what you want. I still feel like we should stay out of it for our sake, but I should've figured you'd try to get yourself in a potentially very dangerous situation, you always do."

"But I have a brother who always has my back." I smile faintly at him, getting only a sad smile in return.

. . . .

A large group of smaller kids and teenagers is piled on the patio, being formed into smaller groups of four to five for easier transferring to the safe place Harry has found for them somewhere away on the North. Everyone younger than eighteen is leaving Hazard today.

Louis and Alex are demonstrating some kind of battle movements to a few older teenagers in case they need it, but failing at it since they're too busy laughing and teasing each other. The scene makes me smile, it makes me happy to see Alex happy, he never had friends before we came here. Neither of us had.

Louis suddenly trips and falls face down, making Tori and Alex laugh, neither of them helping him up since they can barely move from laughing so hard. Louis just keeps lying on the ground, seemingly embarrassed with that fall and I think I hear him groan.

"Okay, I'm ready to die now," Louis says, looking up at the sky.

"Are your shoelaces unt-" Tori starts, wiping her tears.

"Not a fucking word!" Louis snaps at her.

I'm not surprised to see Liam in the company of a few seventeen-year-old girls, a smirk on his face as he openly flirts with them. The girls are watching him with interest, basically swooning at whatever's he's saying.

Niall is crouching in front of a small kid who I believe is one of the youngest ones here, tying his shoelaces and smiling brightly at him. Harry is beside him, talking to a few kids, giving each of them a hug.

I decide to join them, but my eyes catch Tommy standing aside, his eyebrows pulled in a deep frown as he stares at the ground, shuffling his foot over the cement absently. I walk toward him with a smile, placing my hand on his shoulder, his deep brown eyes snapping up at mine.

"Hey, what is it?" I ask gently.

"I don't want to go," he tells me, looking down again.

"And I don't want you to go, and neither does H." That makes him look up at me again warily. "But it's best for you, how can we fight the enemy if you're not safe? They would hurt you just to hurt us, you need to understand that." He frowns. "We'll defeat them and when you come back, we're starting to train with knives."

His lips suddenly pull in a grin, eyes twinkling with excitement. "Yes!" He fist pumps the air. "Oh man, defeat them as soon as you can."

"Oh, we will." I grin back at him, surprised when he pulls me in for a hug, his arms tightly wrapped around my waist. Only now I realise how hard this is for me, I've got very attached to these kids, especially Tommy and Alice. This place won't be the same without them, they're the energy and positivity in here.

When I hear a familiar shy voice, I turn around, looking down at Alice. "Hey, Princess," I greet her, stroking her silky brown hair.

"You have to tell me how Alice in Wonderland ends," she tells me, a small smile on her face as her arms latch to my waist.

"When we come for you, I will. I promise." I smile gently.

Harry suddenly comes toward us and grabs Alice, lifting her up and hugging her tightly. She squeals in surprise but wraps her frail arms around his neck. "See you soon, Little Dove."

I notice a flicker of sadness on his features as he holds her, forcing a smile onto his lips before setting her down. He looks at Tommy, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Thomas, I want you to take care of yourself and Alice, okay? And behave, try not to break too many things-"

"Honestly H, you're ruining the moment," Tommy interrupts him with a smile and gives him a tight hug. Harry ruffles his jet black locks like he always does.

In the next half an hour, every last one of them is gone. Even after we can't see them anymore, we keep still, our eyes focused on the horizon. I glance at Harry, seeing a blank expression on his face, but when he sighs deeply and his shoulders fall slightly, I know how he really feels. Before I can say anything, he abruptly turns around and leaves. I let him so he can be alone, I know he needs it from time to time.

. . . .

Harry beams when I enter his training room, meeting me halfway and wrapping his arms around my waist tightly, his warmth engulfing me. I smile and sneak my arms around his neck, inhaling his scent and taking a few moments to take in the feelings erupting inside me. I realise he's shirtless, probably preparing to train.

I came here to check up on him and I'm surprised to see him so calm yet so proud of him. I remember the time he looked so pale and anxious when it came to leaving the base and now he's the army leader about to play his part in this war. I also thought he'd be a mess after having to let Tommy and Alice go like that, but then again, he has probably accepted it's for the best.

"I have a good feeling about today," he murmurs, still keeping his arms locked around me.

I cringe and gulp nervously, grateful he can't see my face. "Then we have nothing to worry about."

He pulls away, green eyes searching my face shortly before locking with mine. "Is everything okay? You're still a bit off. The Elena I know would be polishing her knives right now, all pumped and shit."

I laugh lightly. "Please, I took care of my babies already. And I just like to stay realistic and not let myself be too happy about anything in life, which sounds quite pathetic now that I think about it." His smile slowly fades. "But I truly believe things will be okay."

Harry nods solemnly, releasing a sigh. "If- no, when they say yes, the biggest challenge is yet to come. Defeating Vortex is going to be so tough, and since my dad is gone, the burden of leading the army falls on me. I know I've said it too many times, but I feel like I'm going to fail."

"No, you won't Harry, you may have done one mistake when you were younger, but you're much more mature now and you have taken so much effort to plan this whole thing, revising every little detail at least five times," I say. "You're not going to fail. Shall I call the guys to help me convince you-"

"God no, it's okay I have faith! I believe in myself, I have inner strength and shit, it's cool, it's cool!" He panics, lifting his hands and taking a step back.

I laugh and he takes me by surprise when he wraps one of his arms around my shoulders, pressing his lips to my temple, letting them linger there for a few moments, the gesture bringing a smile to my face.

"Are you okay, though?" I ask him, wanting to remove a slight frown on his face, a clear evidence he's worried despite trying to seem relaxed.

He gulps, casting his gaze done. "I should've done that sooner, but I was too attached to all of them. They'll be safe now, that's all that matters."

An idea suddenly pops into my head, a smirk appearing on my lips. I know just the way to distract him. "Do you need a sparring partner?"

He looks at me in confusion for a few moments until he realises what I'm suggesting, one corner of his lips tilting up in a half smile. "Oh honey, you wouldn't be able to handle me."

"Try me, bitch," I retort and motion for him to come at me.

There's a mischevious glint in his eyes before he laughs and shakes his head, turning around and seemingly dismissing me. I prepare to lunge at him now that he's not looking, but he abruptly turns around, his hands grabbing my wrists, a satisfied smirk spreading over his pink lips as he steps toward me, tilting his head aside.

"Nice try, Tiger, but you're gonna have to do-"

I cut him off when I kick him right in the shin, a slight groan rumbling from his chest from my action, making me smile to myself. I did it to loosen his grip on me, not to hurt him, but I guess my gentle kicks hurt as well.  I pry his hands away and lift my left hand to feign a punch in his face and distract him while fisting my right one, preparing for my favourite throat punch. However, he surprises me when he makes no attempt to stop my fake punch and grips my right fist, his free arm looping around my waist, pulling me close to him.

"I know all your moves, baby girl, you can't fool me," he tells me, his face very close to mine, eyes glancing at my lips.

"Baby girl, huh?" I smile and push him away, watching as he stumbles backwards, somehow managing to keep himself on his feet. "Go on, fight me."

He smirks and drags his tongue over his inner cheek, shaking his head as he glances away.  He suddenly swings his hand toward me to grab my arm and probably disable me, making me block it and punch him in the stomach, immediately regretting it because his chiselled abs are rock hard.  He swipes his foot below my feet and makes me lose my balance, but instead of falling down clumsily, I land on my palms as if I'm doing push ups. His plan is to trap his body with mine as he bends down to pin me to the floor, but I know better.

I turn and shift my weight onto my elbows, lifting my legs and flattening my feet against his chest, pushing him away and standing up in one swift movement. He looks surprised with my actions, clearly expecting me to hold back. "Aw, what's the matter, baby boy?"

"Damn that's hot," he mumbles as he runs his tongue along his bottom lip and over the piercing in it, his green eyes watching me intensely.

Harry narrows his eyes slightly and tries to lunge at me, making me bend down and avoid his body, immediately tackling him from behind, making him collapse on the ground.  He reacts quickly and rolls to his back, throwing me off him, but I jump on top of him and trap him in a headlock between my thighs.  If this was a real life threatening situation, he'd have to do one simple wrong move and I'd snap his neck like a twig.

"I can't say I'm not enjoying being between your thighs," Harry cheekily remarks, making me laugh.

"Hmm." I smirk as he looks up at me. "And you know what I enjoy?"

"What?" He asks, his palms sliding over the sides of my legs.

"The fact I've won, sucker!" I release his head and stand up, doing a brief victory dance, swaying my hips and lifting my arms up in the air. Alex is my twin brother, after all, we've got more in common than just genes.

Harry laughs and shakes his head. "To be honest, I was half expecting you to kick me in the balls and half expecting you to use your knife."

"From my experience, most guys usually expect the dick shot, so they're well prepared to defend it. And regarding my knife, I only use it-" I cut myself off when I realise the usual bump I feel aside in my boot is gone and I look at Harry in disbelief. "Oooh, for your sake I hope you didn't."

"Looking for this?" He holds up my pocket knife, throwing it in the air and once it spins, he catches it with one hand, a playful grin on his face. He must've taken it when I was on top of him without me noticing.

"Harry, nobody touches Tinkerblade but me. Return her to me gently."

"Aww look at these two love birds, beating each other up and whatnot, I'm so touched, really," Liam's voice echoes in the room, followed by his repetitive claps, preventing me from tackling Harry and taking my knife.

Harry and I look at him in surprise, both of us still panting as the result of our recent fight. "How long have you been here?" Harry drawls and raises his eyebrow.

"Long enough to see her kicking your ass," Liam tells us as he approaches us, sending me a wink. I smirk and Harry rolls his eyes.

"I came here to tell you there's only an hour or so left before you leave to Wildfire, so we need you both to supervise the last preparations," Liam informs us, his tone serious and business like which is rare for him.

"So, who gets the base?" Niall asks as he peeks inside the room, followed by Louis' and Tori's heads appearing below his.

"Wait, what?" Harry asks.

Liam chuckles, scratching the back of his head. "Yeaaah, here's the thing. We had this bet about who would take your place when you leave, and since David's gone. . . you know."

"Can you tell these twats it's me so I can win the bet and be the boss bitch?" Niall says.

"No fucking way," Louis and Tori chorus.

They all get in a discussion and I glance at Harry who looks like his nerves are wearing thin.  He attempts to whistle, but ends up sputtering some saliva instead, making me smile. I sigh and do it for him, but when it doesn't draw their attention, I grab my knife from his hand, unfold it and swiftly throw it toward them, the knife flying between the four of them, the tip of the blade jamming into the door. Everyone immediately stops talking.

"Okay, you really need to stop throwing sharp shit at people!" Liam places his hand over his chest.

"Hot as fuck," Niall comments with a wink, a playful smirk on his face as he looks at me.

Harry sighs. "I don't really care who replaces me, but now that I think about it, maybe Liam should-" everyone gasps while Liam smirks "-and before you say anything, it's because he has experience with it, so give me a break."

"You heard him, you're all my bitches now!" Liam shouts, smacking his chest with his palms like he's some alpha male or whatever.

Tori, Niall, and Louis glare at him, making him take a few steps back as they slowly begin approaching him. "Uuh, guys. . . come on, we're all friends here," Liam says, a nervous smile on his face before he turns around and runs out of the room hastily, all of them following him outside.

Harry rolls his eyes while I laugh and walk toward the door to retrieve my knife and push it back inside my boot. He looks at me with a faint smile on his face and keeps his eyes on me for a few moments. He steps toward me, his hand coming up to cup my cheek, thumb brushing against my skin.

"Don't ever leave," Harry whispers. "I can't keep losing everyone. . . just don't leave. Besides my friends, you're one of the people I really. . ." he pauses, searching for right words. "Want in my life."

A heavy lump forms in my throat. If he only knew I'd rather get shot than do that. "I'm not going anywhere, Harry."

That's all the confirmation he needs apparently, because his lips are soon on mine, hungrily kissing me as if this is the last time we're ever going to do it. My palms settle on his waist, pulling him closer to me as I deepen the kiss, my tongue finding his, heat coursing through my body. He wraps one of his arms around my shoulders while his hand comes up to fold the strands of my ponytail around its knuckles, tugging at it slightly.

My hands trail down his waist and over his abdomen, my fingertips feeling his defined abs and smooth heated skin, all the while his mouth works fervently with mine. His groan vibrates from his chest as his hand runs down to my backside, gripping the flesh and pressing our hips together roughly, the action sending jolts through my body and straight to my core.

"Abort mission, abort!" He panics as he suddenly detaches our lips, his cheeks flushed. "I, uh- I need a moment." He suddenly drops on the floor, starting to do push ups.

"What are you- oooh, wait." I pull my lips into my mouth to stop myself from laughing, my palm covering my mouth. "I'm glad I'm not a guy."

He glares at me from the floor as he does push ups, my eyes focusing on his arms, enjoying how his muscles bulge as he lifts himself up and down. He stops after a few moments and stands up again, his hand grabbing his crotch and adjusting it. "It's good. I'm good."

"You sure? Want me to check-"

"Alright, you're hilarious, ha ha." Harry looks at me blankly. "Just don't touch me anymore, things happen when you do."

I laugh. "You know what's ironic? Remember how you wanted us to leave so desperately when we met, and look at you now." I smile widely, pinching his cheeks because he's honestly adorable.

"Aaah yes, good times, good times." He nods a few times.

I smile softly as our gazes meet, my hand taking a hold of his. "Let's go." I pull him with me and we walk out of the room, prepared to face whatever is waiting for us in Wildfire.

. . . .

a/n: what could go wrong, right? ;)