Smol Women

Chapter Seventeen

Much like how Maxy Max and Tank's night ended, Selena and Thomas's started out very tense.

Thomas had stormed into their room angrily, with Selena scrambling after him.

"Why are you so angry at everyone?" she asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

He looked up at her with an exasperated expression. "Selena! They're idiots! Max is literally connected to ISIS."

Suddenly feeling defensive of the very group she had spent so much time hating, Selena let out a sigh. "Thomas, until today you had forgotten about the ISIS shrine. Nobody asked to be here."

"Really? You're defending them? Marianne killed Mitch!" Thomas snapped, before realizing what he said. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."

Selena sat down on the bed beside him and shrugged. "They are idiots, but so are we."

The pair laughed in agreement at that. Thomas glanced around the room. "This isn't too bad. Do you think we can sneak away and get a plane home?"

Although she wouldn't admit it, Selena had considered it. "No," she sighed. "We have no passports. And we would probably get sent to prison for deserting. Besides, I can't leave Tank."

Thomas nodded in understanding. "Okay. It was worth a shot. Um, wanna do something, then?"

Selena smiled and stood. "Sure, let's go."

The two made their way out of the room and down the hall to the elevator, where they were promptly greeted by an out of order sign.

"This hotel is huge, and yet there's only one elevator?" Thomas questioned, leading the way to the stairwell at the end of the hall.

After descending ten flights of stairs, they emerged into the lobby to find a commotion at the elevator. Workers were hurriedly trying to open it, shouting at each other in Arabic.

"Ha! Watch Tank have something to do with that," Selena laughed.

Thomas rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't be surprised."

The pair continued on through the lobby and outside, where they were quickly disoriented by the business and foreignness.

"Ummm... go right," Selena decided, turning and beginning to walk away.

Thomas hurried after her, grabbing her arm to slow her down. "I swear, don't get lost here. We don't have Max to save us."

Selena nodded. "Right. Okay, let's get some clothes to change into. Also, food."

This was a good idea, so that was what they did. Without Maxy Max, they really didn't know what they were doing, since everything was in Arabic.

"Here," Thomas pointed into a store with men's clothing. "Can I look inside?"

Selena shook her head with wide eyes, "Look."

Inside, the familiar faces of Maxy Max and Tank were browsing the clothing racks. It was dark out, and bright inside the shop, which meant Thomas and Selena would be clearly visible through the giant storefront windows.

"Shit keep walking. Hurry," Thomas rushed, speed walking past the store. Selena followed, laughing.

Eventually they found a department store that sold clothes. Selena chose a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a pair of running shoes. Thomas opted for a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and similar shoes.

"Dinner, now," Selena demanded.

They set out anxiously, not knowing what to expect from Syrian food. Crackers!

Unfortunately, the second Thomas and Selena stepped out of the store, they were greeted with an army of yells and shoves. Shocked at first, they quickly realized the shouts were directed at them.

"What's going on?" Selena cried.

Thomas's eyes widened and he pulled her behind him. "Your outfit!" With a shove, he hurried her back in the direction of the hotel.

"We can't let them follow us there!" Selena gasped, suddenly diving down a side alley.

They found themselves in a long dark corridor between two buildings and dove into a pile of garbage bins. The group of angry men ran past them and down the alley.

"Here," Thomas whispered, handing Selena her uniform. "Put it over your head."

Selena complied, shaking from what just happened.

"We'll sneak back to the hotel. Let's go, quick."

Thomas jumped to his feet and grabbed Selena's hand, dragging her after him.

By the time they returned to the hotel, they were panting from running. They hurried to a stop in the lobby, and both groaned when they saw the workers still at the elevator.

"Oh, come on," Selena sighed, flopping down into a chair.

"Nope," Thomas grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the chair. "We're going back to the room where we will hide and order room service."

With a groan Selena got to her feet and the pair began their ascent of the ten flights of stairs.

"Why are you struggling?" Thomas asked her as they reached the ninth floor. "Didn't you run like two-hundred laps during training with no problem?"

Selena rolled her eyes. She'd forgotten about that. "You're right." With that, she ran the final floor of stairs and waited calmly at the top for Thomas, not out of breath at all.

When the pair entered their room, they each ordered a BLT sandwich through room service and turned on the T.V. while they waited.

"Hey! What the hell?" Thomas exclaimed, pointing to the screen. It was a Syrian newscast and showed footage of a busy street. "Look, there," he pointed to a woman on the screen.

She wore a t-shirt and jeans.

"What?" Selena gasped. "Why were those men chasing me then?"

Before Thomas could answer, their food arrived.

Selena took it and handed Thomas his plate.

"Why do they have this on the menu?" Selena asked, pointing to the bacon.

Ignoring her question, Thomas took a bite of his food and stared at her. "Selena, we need to talk."

She glanced up at him. "Do we?"

"Yes. Look, I think I've made it clear how I feel about you, and unless I'm mistaken, you feel the same way," he paused. "Am I mistaken?"

"No," Selena said sheepishly, looking down at her dinner.

"Then why hasn't anything changed? I know Mitch... listen, these aren't ordinary circumstances. If we weren't in the middle of a war, I'd be happy to wait for you as long as you needed, but who knows if both of us will be here tomorrow."

Somehow that was the most romantic thing Selena had ever heard.

"I get it," she told him with a smile. "Okay. It might take me some time, but I'd be happy to take baby steps."

"I'm your boyfriend now," Thomas declared, smiling proudly.

Selena nodded happily, "Okay."