Emotional Resolution

[Laurels]

((Rodney Vasicek continued from Anahuac))

Rodney looked around the church. It was somewhat comforting to be back here, even if he could still see the blood from when he first ran into Roz here and could see signs of further damage around. But there were no bodies here, so they could still reasonably consider this a sanctuary.

He ran his hand around the edge of the pulpit. He wasn't sure what to say or do now. He and Roz still hadn't found anyone they were looking for, although they had been lucky enough to not see anyone dangerous in the meantime.

Rodney reached through his bag, looking for something to drink, when he came upon the orgel. He hadn't done much with it, not that he could. Still, it could allow for a break in the monotony.

He set the orgel on the pulpit and wound the crank. He released it, allowing the notes of "America the Beautiful" to fill the empty church.

Rodney hummed along and looked to Roz.

"Sorry. I just thought it'd be nice to have some music."

[Lilith]

Calling Roz religious would make any good christian girls out there confused and potentially offended.

((Roz continued from peninsula.))

Religion wasn't a major part of her family. She knew her mom was a catholic and her dad was vaguely practising, but that was it. She also knew they used to have another religion a while ago, but that got lost in the translation. She knew things about God like the fact he was in Heaven, and he had a kid named Jesus and he got mercked by like the Roman Empire or something. She wondered if she were religious, perhaps a christian, she would find comfort in this moment. It was a 20/20 hindsight moment, but she could have been a much better person maybe. Or perhaps not, did it really matter at this point? Time felt like it was running out.

America The Beautiful was a pretty song. It almost made her feel patriotic. Almost made her felt like she belonged, that she was welcomed here, despite being in a church in a killing game. It sounded like wedding music and that was the part she preferred. Weddings in books were always the best, always pretty and happy. Well, not in a A Cruel Twist of Fate but the main character had it coming so did it really matter?

Quietly, she nudged toward Rod. She looked at the wooden box, she wished there was a tiny couple dancing in the middle. It would fit the cute music box aesthetic, something a hopeless romantic Roz would never admit. She just finished scratching RoRo here with a smiley face on the side in the wooden pew. There, a mark was made. She stepped toward Rod, slightly limping. She put a strand of hair behind her hair and ear and smiled mischievously. She was almost singing to the theme of the song as she reached out for Rodney.

"Are you going to help me?"

[Laurels]

Rodney froze for a moment. Oh crap. She was asking for a dance.

Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god
Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god
Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god
Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god
Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god

Roz had just finished carving something in a pew, and somehow she had taken his orgel playing as a sign to dance. He stared at her and flicked his gaze between her face and her hand.

Rodney breathed in and moved forward.

Screw it. A cute girl was asking him to dance, and he was likely to die any moment now. He may as well take the opportunity.

"Sure," he said, taking her hand.

He tightened his grip on her hand and moved closer. He then found himself awkwardly holding her hand up and staring at her.

"Um, I actually don't know how to dance. Do you?"

[Lilith]

Oh, maybe she wasn't clear. She just wanted to be near him. Well, that was better that she thought. His hand was callused, but she already knew it, but she just realized how weird it felt against her own hand. The only part of body with calluses were her feet, she wondered how he got his hands covered in them. She could ask him later, but right now she was enjoying the contrast. She answered his question while wrapping her fingers around his,

"Nope," she giggled, "I think we can learn, though."

She put her other hand on his shoulder and leaned closer. Her leg still made movement painful but she was supported by a guy who made her feel small. It was fine, feeling small felt good. She didn't want to feel huge again. She looked down at his chest, searching for the right words,

"So what do we do next?"

[Laurels]

Rodney tensed a bit as Roz put a hand on his shoulder. He had seen plenty of movies and read a lot of books about dancing. Hell, he had written plenty of stories that involved balls and masquerades and waltzes. He should have been a lot more comfortable and understanding of what to do, but his mind was drawing a blank as he looked at Roz.

"Um, I think I do this..."

He put his other hand on her lower back and pulled her closer. He had to awkwardly move his feet so there was still a bit of distance between them. He stared at her as he tried to figure out what to do next as America the Beautiful continued to play on the orgel.

"I guess we spin around or something. Sorry. My dad should have considered dancing a useful skill. It'd probably be more useful than bowhunting right now."

[Lilith]

She laughed softly as she replied to him, "Yeah, I think we are supposed to sway."

Their feet carefully moved on the wooden floor, avoiding each other's feet. It reminded her when she danced with her dad, when she put her tiny feet on his and let him guide her around the dance floor that was their apartment during New Year's Eve. It pained her to remind herself of that memory knowing it won't happen again. Her childhood wasn't so bad looking back it, it was a bit gray and lonely, but happy. As both her memories and her body swayed in their respecting room, she mouth was starting to turn into a nostalgic smile.

She looked down in her mind and now she was looking at Rod's chest. She felt like burrying her head in there again, just closing her eyes and waiting for time to pass. They continued to sway softly as the song played, she squeezed him closer when she realized his hand on her lower back and pushing her closer. She didn't know what to say but she felt she like she needed to say something. She only wanted to make the right move as she carefully avoiding stepping on his feet and moving her hips. She wanted to say something but she wasn't sure if it was appropriate. Then she realized it didn't really matter, this was the Program. Did it really matter what she say or did? She wanted to be happy. She started to blush and ignore Rod's sight. She barely whispered the words, forgetting her gun in her gun, forgetting the blood on her, and forgetting the world around her,

"Have you ever... kissed a girl?"

[Laurels]

Now they were holding one another close and swaying. Suddenly, Rodney didn't feel so bad about not knowing how to dance. This was somewhat easier than he thought. Granted, it probably wasn't actually good dancing, but hey, he wasn't stepping on her toes. He was going to take that victory.

As they continued to spin, Roz asked him if he ever kissed anyone before. He quickly bit the inside of his cheek in order to keep his face neutral. What did that mean? Was she asking him if he ever loved before? Was she easing him in for a kiss? If he was wrong about any assumption, would that potentially ruin this moment?

No, he decided not to worry about it. He was going to be open and honest to this girl and not hold back his opinion. She had helped him finally break through of nearly two decades of complacency, so he owed her the truth when she asked for it.

"Um. No," he said. "I never have. I never was close to any girls before I met you."

"So...why do you ask?"

[Lilith]

"You look like the kind of guy who would have a bunch of girlfriends."

There, she had said it. The bomb that was on her mind for a while. She knew Rodney and her were both quiet and loner at school, but she assumed he also had friends just like her. She looked away realizing she guessed wrong. He was probably more lonely than she was. It was weird, Roz led a lonely life, but she also carefully handpicked the people that were around her, not making her alone. She wondered if Rod was truly alone in this world, a thought that Roz couldn't bear to handle. She tried to imagine a world where she wouldn't be able to twirl in a church with a friend while a song played, and it sent electroshock down her spine.

She quickly realized that if Rodney led that type of life, Rozenne made it better. She smiled, understanding her impact. Her life wasn't wasted after all. Yes, she was going to die a miserable death, probably a bloody one too. Even if she lived, she knew she was better off dead. She lived for a short time, but the boy in front of her gave her the satisfaction of succeeding at something. She wasn't a waste of space anymore, she did something. She made someone's life better. She didn't have any words to thank him, so she teased him instead.

"Mhm, before you ask," she smiled politely before bursting out laughing, "you are the first boy to see my underwear."

[Laurels]

Rodney blushed a bit. There was no way he could have had numerous girlfriends before this. Maybe he had the physique, but combined with his nature, he didn't really have anything he was sure would attract women to him. He figured, if anything was to come out of this awful experience, it was that all he had to do was actually try to talk to girls, and maybe then he wouldn't have been so lonely.

He had to turn away a bit when Roz reminded him about how he saw her panties yesterday. He had managed to go a long time without thinking about how embarrassing that was, and suddenly he was feeling ashamed again.

"Uh, well, I wouldn't have asked that. I didn't feel the need to. Not because I would assume other boys have seen your panties. No, not at all. But...um..."

Rodney could feel his face getting flushed. He desperately needed to change the subject.

"So, this is fun. Dancing. Dancing is fun. We should do it more often.

[Lilith]

"Yeah, dancing is fun."

His reaction was cute. She was glad he didn't take offense to it, she liked his rosey cheeks. It was interesting to be equal to someone else, to look at someone who she would be terrified of in any other setting and saying these kind of things to him. She smiled softly as they swayed to the song, she started to hum it. It was tragically catchy, Roz knew she would have it stuck in her head for whatever time she had left on this planet. It could be worse.

Now, there was the not fun part of all this: Rozenne's feelings. Lust or love? She didn't know. It was the first time she experienced this: touching a boy, being held by one, being so close to one. She felt weird tingly feelings inside of her chest, as if tiny butterflies laid eggs and tried to fly away through her navel. She questioned them, both the butterflies and her feelings, hoping for an answer. What she got was something her mind has been thinking of for a while now. It was probably a mixture of both.

She would call Rodney a friend, but she was also craving for everything she had missed for all these years. Girls in books were much more luckier than she was, and it only felt unfair as she was reminded of everything they could do and everything Rozenne couldn't. She opened her lips, her voice was mature and sincere, it felt weird being like this after her last comment.

"Thanks... for being here with me. Thanks for being my friend."

[Laurels]

Rodney had to smile a bit. He was glad to know Roz considered him a friend. Now he could say he had one. But in all seriousness, he was really pleased he made a connection with someone. All it took was being abducted by the U.S. government and being stripped of all rights and future possibilities. Rodney was sure he could dwell on it later, but at the very least, he had this one moment of peace with Roz to carry him through the dark times.

Rodney pulled Roz a bit closer as they continued to twirl. He could hear the orgel start to slow down, telling him they'd soon be alone with the silence of the chapel. He looked down at Roz, staring into her eyes. They were really pretty.

"Um...Roz..." he began.

He wasn't sure what to say next.

[Lilith]

As the orgel slowed down, so did Roz and Rod. They held to one-another as if they were the only survivors of a sinked ship, grabbing and digging their fingers inside the other's body, reassuring themselves they weren't alone in all of this. She knew, matter of fact, they weren't alone but she didn't know she would be reminded of it so soon by strange noises.

It wasn’t the cameras, it was the helicopters and.... the boats? They had boats, now? She knew about the snipers. Before the collars, they would send snipers to get rid of the bad apples, she assumed they came back when they decided to withdraw the collars. There was more than one helicopters, more than one boats, more than one everything.

Roz looked like a deer in the headlight of a car, even if she’s never seen a deer in real life, she could imagine them with wide eyes staring their impending doom. Her eyes were locked on the door, feeling like the noise would burst in. She heard voices, they sounded weird. She saw movement in one the window, her head snapped toward it. She saw a group heading toward the door. She looked at Rod again, he saw the fear in her eyes. It felt weird. She knew this would happen soon, but she thought she would have more time. She saw a crack open in the door and what appeared to be a flashlight, she looked back at Rod and he smiled. She looked back at the door, reaching for her gun, fear slowly setting in her face.

But the second the door was busted in, the second the noise echoed in the church as the orgel died, Rod blocked the sight from Roz.

((Rod and Roz continued in ...And An Ending))