☾THE MECHANIC☽

9. Fight

The main objective Ashlyn writes down is "Gunshop". "We need better weapons" Ashlyn states. "Okay, how are we going to get there?" Tyler questions. "We'll need to do two things first" Ashlyn continues to write on the whiteboard.

- 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚢 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚆𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜
- 𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙹𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍

"We need a vehicle to drive to the gunshop. My parent's Jeep is the closest so we'll need to bring it to the graveyard. [Y/N], when we do, you'll need to be ready to drive" Ashlyn glances at you. "Alright," You nod. "However, the phantom got over the walls last time. I'm not sure how but we need to figure out a way to stop it from happening again. So when we get the jeep any phantoms that follow us won't be able to get in" Ashlyn explains. "Anyone have any ideas?" The braided female eyes everyone. Ben stands up and walks over to the duffle bag, pulling out a blank sketchbook. He draws something on it and turns it around to show everyone his idea. "Barbed wire?" You raise an eyebrow at the idea. "If they were normal human that might work but I feel like it wouldn't bother them to grab and climb the wire regardless" Tyler sighs. "Yeah, I can see that happening" Taylor sweatdrops. You and Aiden make eye contact. "Light," The two of you say in unison. "Their bodies don't react well to light so why don't we just have some large light fixtures on the wall?" You glance at Ashlyn. "I'm not sure if the generator has enough power to keep those lights on. Most of it goes toward the door... If the light went off every time we opened the door that wouldn't be helpful" She sighs. "Solar panels, maybe?" Logan suggests. "It could work but how do we get them?" You ask.

"Leave it to me. I haven't been using my allowance lately so it's built up a bit" Aiden points at himself. "How much allowance do you have?" You question. Your eyes widen slightly when he tells you the amount. There's always bound to be a rich kid in a group. "Anyway, I have a card so we can order the lights online and have them shipped here," Aiden says. "Alright, we'll work on that tomorrow" Ashlyn nods. "Oh," She pauses, "Before I forget, Aiden, can I borrow your knife?". Aiden hands his knife over to Ashlyn, "What do you need it for?". In one slice, Ashlyn cuts her braids off, making her hair fall above her shoulders. "These need to go," She says. Woah, she's pretty with short hair too. "Better than me, rather die than cut my hair hair" You purse your lips. Aiden snickers as everyone looks at you. "Let's not die please" Taylor sweatdrops.

☾☾☽☽

You told Logan that you'll meet him at the school since you woke up later than you please. Thankfully, your dad drives you to school but you don't see Logan before school. You shoot him a text, asking where he is as you walk the halls to lunch. You flinch at a loud slam somewhere down the hallway. You quicken your steps and take a left to see Logan backed up against the lockers by some boy with long black hair. Your focus is so zoned on the two of them that you don't even realize your friends on the other side. You toss your bag to the floor and run over to the black-haired boy. You grab a fistful of his hair and tug it back. He grunts as he grabs your wrists, "What the hell?!". "The fuck do you think you're doing?" You pull him away from Logan. "Let go of me you bitch!" He shouts. "One or two," You say. "What?". "Choose" Your other hand blocks his fist. "No! Let me go!" He yells. "[Y-Y/N]!" Logan stutters but you don't hear him. "Fucking choose!" You tug on the boy's hair even tighter. "One, dammit!" He answers. You shove him forward, "Damn, I was looking forward to kicking your ass".

"Barron!" You hear someone shout as the angered boy lunges at you. You grab his wrist and bend his arm behind his back. With your free hand, you grab his hair. Using your strength, you push him forward and smash his face onto one of the lockers. "[Y/N], that's enough!" A pair of arms pull you back. "Back off Barron," Tyler notices the boy try to grab for you but Tyler pulls you closer to his body. "You're already on thin ice with the coach, so buzz off before he finds out how you're treating your science partner" Tyler glares. "Yeah, Barron, you wouldn't wanna get in trouble with your coach now, would ya?" A menacing snicker comes out of you. "Cut it out, [Y/N]" Tyler's grip tightens around you. "[Y/N], hm? Next time I see you, you're done" Barron threatens. "Try me" You glare before he walks off. You feel Tyler let go, all the warmth leaving with him. "You just can't stay out of trouble" Tyler glares at you. "Why are you glaring at me? I was giving him a taste of his own medicine" You furrow your eyebrows. "Yeah but— Nevermind" Tyler sighs. "[Y-Y/N]" Logan walks over to you. Your eyes travel from Tyler to Logan. You notice his bruising cheek, "Are you okay?". Logan nods, "Thanks but... Now you're going to be in trouble when he sees you alone". You let out a light-hearted scoff, "As if, besides it was worth it". You offer a small smile to Logan, which he sheepishly returns.

"When did you learn how to fight?" Taylor questions. "Ever since I started learning self-defense" You answer before turning back to Logan, "You saw how it was that weekend and I know I said I'll let you think on it but... just let me teach you. I'll go easy on you until you're ready". Logan rubs his neck. "That's a good idea actually. I was thinking about asking parents to teach us self-defense. I used to do it when I was younger" Ashlyn speaks up. "Your dad can come too if he wants," Ashlyn tells you. "We can use Logan as an excuse saying something along the lines of him wanting to defend himself," You say, giving Logan an apologetic look. "Where's psycho and big guy?" Tyler's eyes wander the hall. "Oh, I think Ben started acting weird. Aiden said they were going to the vending machine and would see us in class" Taylor informs.

In history class, your and Logan's seats were moved behind Tyler and Taylor. You now sit directly behind Tyler while Logan sits behind Taylor. You smile to yourself, thinking of the ways you could annoy Tyler. Your eyes travel over to Aiden and Ben's seats. It's nearly the end of class and they haven't shown up. Your phone vibrates and you see a text from Aiden in the group chat. He says that they'll see everyone at lunch.

Tyler sighs making you glance up from your phone. Should you? Yes. Yes, you should. You slowly bring your hand up to the side of his head to flick his ear. He flinches as you rest your arm back on your desk. Tyler glares at you from over his shoulder and you smile at him as you bat your eyelashes, innocently. He turns back around and you're back in action. You poke his side and snicker when he flinches. You do it two more times until you gasp feeling his hand wrap around your thigh, closer to your knee. One, how the hell can he reach you from that angle? Two, there's that warmth again, just like when he pulled you away from Barron earlier. Tyler glances over his shoulder at you with a smirk on his lips. You glare at him, puffing your cheeks. He removes his hand and the warmth leaves you as quickly as it appears.