𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 | A Top Gun Fanfiction

Chapter 10: 𝘈𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴

The day goes as anticipated; moderately. I've got Goose and Maverick with me, which accounts for a lot of laughs and throwbacks to last night. When Goose gets to the academy, the first thing he does is yell at me for stealing Maverick from the bar early. He isn't at all mad, he's just being silly, so I shake it off with a smirk. Together we attend the first theory class and by far the hardest. Not because of the material. If we're ranking classes by curriculum, Viper's is a nightmare compared to first period. But it's not the curriculum we're talking about, it's the teacher, who in this case is my fallen guardian angel I've been successfully avoiding since we fell out after the assembly.

Charlie.

She notices me immediately, but we don't speak.

I look away from her, only paying enough attention to her lecture in case she calls on me. I'm surprised when she announces the session's over without ever once singling me out. A missed opportunity, I'd think, for her to vent consequence free. She could publicly embarrass me in front of all the guys and get away with it. In fact, I could name those who'd pay to see me fall on my face. But Charlie proves her goddamn purity by ignoring me completely. I leave her class in a funk. The whole time, I'd been bouncing nervously in my seat, expecting her to lash out. I was chomping at the bit, rearing and ready to feast on the conflict...

But I got nothing.

No satisfactory argument, not even the sweet sting of pain at the mercy of her sharp words.

Nothing.

Maverick and Goose dragged me away from Charlie's class and through the rest of our very long day.

I could hardly pay any attention to any of our instructors.

Not that they noticed.

They wouldn't have sought out my opinion anyways.

Well...Viper might have. He certainly acted like he wanted to a few times during his class, but every time he opened his mouth and turned towards my corner of the room, he thought better of it and asked Goose or Maverick the question instead. Pity burned in his eyes. It made me feel like an idiot. When his class ended, I had to tear myself out of the chair I'd slowly melted into over the course of the hour.

Even in the air with Dash...I didn't have any fight in me.

I cursed him out plenty in my head, reprimanded by my RIO, but I never once offered any advice.

I did what he said and we lost.

Maverick took it almost as hard as Dash did, only he didn't pout.

He had a fire in his eyes that knocked me senseless. When I caught his furious gaze, something fizzled in the air. A sort of electricity.

When Maverick drove me home that night, I was so wired by his determination, I couldn't sleep.

Day after day, I continued to put up with Dash and Charlie, avoiding them both where I could. There weren't any bar visits or karaoke serenades. I did my assignments with the boys, constantly having to ward both Goose and Maverick off for trying to copy my answers. Those two proved more of a handful than a litter of puppies! One was always daring the other to accomplish some ludicrous feat which left me to clean up the mess or join in. Half the time, I submitted. Why not? I mean...standing up on the back of Maverick's motorcycle isn't safe but neither is piloting the military jet. Plus, I had a good hold on Maverick's shoulders, as weird as it sounds. I didn't get hurt. I did however get a much needed rush.

Five days after joining Top Gun, I finished my fourth flight with Dash.

We did pretty well...

But we could've been better if I'd been in the cockpit, I seeth.