Hunted

Forty-Nine: Frustrated

"James? Where's Charlotte?" Iseult asked, as James burst through the doors to the bunker his anger palpable and his pride severely wounded. He glared at her for a moment, before his expression softened.

Too many eyes focused on him, still caught up in some star-struck fascination with him, even when Charlotte wasn't with him. It was weird. They had grown up around him, but now they looked at him as if he was something new, something special. They had just seen him risk his life for the ever ungrateful Charlotte, before vanishing into thin air when they had expected him to be killed. He had been the reason Ashley Porter had been murdered and they had all witnessed Elmhirst shoot him in the Food Hall, most of them presuming he had died then too. Maybe their sense of awe was justified, even if it was beyond irritating. With a deep breath, he forced himself to ignore the stares and focus on Iseult.

"I don't know. I left her in the hospital," he grumbled, running his hands through his hair and clicking his tongue. He was getting very tired of Charlotte's mood and yet...

He felt his anger weakening, until it had been replaced by raw frustration. It was hard to drown out the sense of relief that she was back with him, even if it wasn't how he had imagined being reunited with her would have been. She was real, she was back, but she was obviously very confused and upset about everything that was happening. He knew he had to be more patient with her, but it was difficult. It was so difficult when she seemed to have changed her mind about him. His stomach knotted at the thought, the feeling of inadequacy engulfing him.

"James..." Iseult frowned, glancing around her as if she was afraid some of the gathered students were listening in. James frowned at her, wondering what she was afraid they would overhear. Though he was certain she wanted Charlotte and himself to appear united against what they were facing now, not distracted with their... relationship. The thought of how idiotic he was being, made him blush and clench his teeth.

"Is everything okay?" she whispered

"Yeah, super," he replied dryly, Iseult's question refocusing his temper. Charlotte was doing absolutely everything to keep him at a distance and it was driving him absolutely mad. Her alteration was the weakest excuse. He could fight it off, he was stronger than it, but she still tried to hold it against him.

He wasn't sure if it frustrated him more that he could plainly see the battle raging inside her. He could see how she looked at him, how her cheeks flushed and her pulse hummed at his touch. Nothing had changed, and yet everything had, all because of what?

Or who? James grimaced, thinking of Desmarais. He was probably the key to the whole problem. He had trusted him to keep her safe, but that was about it. He had had to trust in Charlotte for the rest, but perhaps that had been too optimistic.

This new thought cut into him, sharper than he had expected. What if this was her way of ending their relationship? What if she was trying to push him away, to make him resent her, so it would be easier to finish it all? James clenched his jaw, glancing back at the door.

"James are you listening to me?" Iseult called, waving at him.

"Sorry, what?" James asked.

"We are ready to start attacking. We have the highest numbers, but most of them are the younger students. About half of our year defected to Elmhirst. We're planning phased attacks to try weaken him, but it will be tough. We need to move fast, before he gets himself in order," she said, glancing across the students that seemed to be trying to organise themselves into groups.

"Where do you want me?" James asked, glad of a distraction.

"With Charlotte," Iseult said bluntly. James closed his eyes and sighed.

"Iseult, that's not going to work," he replied tightly.

"Make it work – James I am not doing this out of some bloody affection for either of you. I am doing this because I know how stubborn both of you are, and I know that if either of you seemed to be in trouble the other would do something stupid in an effort to help. I can't have you in separate groups because one of you would mess the whole thing up". Iseult frowned shaking her head, clearly irritated that she even had to accommodate such matters. "When do you expect Charlotte to be down? Was she following you?" Iseult asked James, glancing at him sideways.

"I don't know," he shrugged, his tone deliberately cold. "You know Charlotte. She does whatever she feels like doing". Iseult's forehead puckered as she considered his response, but he just sighed and shook his head. "She'll be down soon. I'm sure she was right behind me".

"Okay, just you know... give her a chance. Things... got pretty messed up out there," Iseult said in a gentle voice, placing a comforting hand on James' arm. He gazed at her for a moment and shrugged.

"Things were bad here too, Iseult, or have you forgotten that? It isn't always about her," he said, too irritated to give Charlotte any leeway.

"Look, just wait until she comes back down. James, she really doesn't even know where her place here is anymore. I have to go sort out the others. We are moving soon, whether you two are ready or not," she sighed, turning sharply and leaving him alone with his brooding thoughts.

James watched her leave, suddenly feeling guilty. It was more the point that he had expected Charlotte to be a little bit more excited to see him, not this distant, withdrawn girl that irritated him so much. There were moments when he saw the real Charlotte, the girl who blushed under his gaze or the girl who refused to leave when Lucio was attacking, but she seemed to be able to pull back this Charlotte and hide her from his sight, acting as if she barely knew him anymore.

"Alexander, here you had better take this," Ian said, approaching him and handing him a dartgun.

"Oh, thanks," James frowned unsure of what he needed it for. "I have to wait for Charlotte before we leave anyway, but thanks..."

"What?" Ian asked, his face screwing up in confusion. "She said she was waiting for you? Man you two really must have got your wires crossed. She said you were supposed to be manning the front entrance with her".

James could see by Ian's expression that he was having a rare moment of seriousness.

"What? Why would she say that? We're not supposed to be manning the door..." he trailed off, suddenly clutching the gun with more force than necessary. "Damn it, Charlotte," he growled, pushing past Ian and hurrying from the bunker.

He was half aware of Ian calling after him, but he could only focus on getting up to the top floor. He sprinted, taking the steps two at a time, ignoring Daiki's greeting and hurrying up the stairs to where he was supposedly meant to be guarding the door with Charlotte.

"Charlotte, what have you done?" he breathed, as he reached the top of the staircase, the door to the Old School slightly ajar. His stomach lurched as he stepped onto the empty landing, his head spinning. He gripped the gun tighter in his right hand and took a deep breath.

He flung open the door, stepping into the Old School and hoping he wasn't already too late.

The first of a double update today! I hope you enjoyed it! Please don't forget to vote and comment - let me know what's going on in your heads!! XD Thanks for all your support so far. Sorcha x