SCATTERED | Peter Quill

||TEN||

[I really love you all, but this a short, shitty filler chapter that was aboslutely necessary to somewhat motivate me to end this story someday, I'm sorry.]

"Ew."

"Stop it."

Avril spared a glance at Rocket, who looked at her annoyed. "You too."

The raccoon groaned, done with the girl that held a more than disgusted expression while observing the muddy streets of Knowhere. "I'm not even doing anything."

"You're talking."

"And you're dead, if you don't shut up."

That was the moment in which Groot decided to intervene.

"I am Groot.", the living tree let out, patting the brunette's head with his large head, causing Avril to let out a small cry of pain.

"I think you just gave me a concussion.", she complained half heartedly, trying to smooth her hair. "Man, your hand weighs a ton, at least. Watch where you're putting that thing."

"Who's putting what where?"

"For God's sake, Quill."

Peter grinned at Avril, enjoying her annoyed but overall done face.

"You're the one having the wrong things in mind."

"I swear to planet earth, pretty boy, some day I am going to punch you in the face and then no one will ever call you pretty again, because your fucking nose will be stu-"

Garona twirled around, beyond done with the bickering of the two.
"Would you just be quiet?", she growled lowly.

A few people were giving them glares while others eyed them suspiciously. It was never good to attract attention but right now the two humans did exactly that by threatening each other.

"Would you just watch where you're going?", Avril snapped back, eyebrows raised as she kicked an empty can away. As Gamora actually listened and turned around again, though much tenser than before, she snorted.

"Was this necessary?"

Startled Avril looked up at the tall human next to her, who had a somewhat weird expression on his face.

"What?"

"Snapping at her like that; I mean, yeah, I know you're not best buddies but, hot stuff, don't you think you should keep it down a bit?"

Now she knew what she saw in his face.

It was concern, though it was not for her.

The care his eyes held was for Gamora.

Without really realizing it, there was a painful tug at the young bounty hunter's heart and as Peter jogged forward to catch up with Gamora, approaching her with a light smile, the girl already knew that she was the one to win the bet tonight.

. . .

It didn't take more than one and a half hour to prove Avril, who stood in front of the bar they had visited while waiting, right. Just the pure thought of trying to stay unnoticed while waiting for Gamora's buyer had been crazy and the fact that neither Peter nor Gamora seemed to notice anything of the things that had been going on while they had their lovey-dovey moment on the bar's balcony made Avril's blood boil.

Couldn't they at least wait until the job was done?

A bitter taste appeared in her mouth.

Huffing, she raised Rocket, whom she had previously held in one hand by the fur in his neck, onto her shoulder like a scarf, ignoring his weak, sleepy protests and little paws digging into her skin. She had told Drax to go and get water for him while she had dragged her two companions out.

To be honest, she wasn't all too sure as to why she had asked Drax in the first place, knowing all too well he was probably to dim too do it but the situation had more or less forced her to.

She did not know how often she had apologized to gambler's and hooded figures because drunken Rocket had shouted insults like a madman and Groot had wailed on and on about how he thought the raccoon was going to die.

At this rate, the female bounty hunter maybe was about to make his concern come true.

The first twenty minutes had gone rather smoothly and to be honest Avril had evaluated to just go with the good mood of the small group but that thought had vanished with Peter and later, Gamora.

As soon as ravager and the daughter of Thanos had left, Avril had been left as the only sober one and that, by far, did not suffice as a caretaker for the three idiots. Their bets had gotten more reckless soon, their voices louder and their insults extremer until they had threatened each other enough to actually attempt murder.

So it was no wonder the young woman had been told to get the three out of the room as soon as possible and Avril actually did not protest as the owner had told her that in not at all friendly way. What she had wanted to protest against was Peter and Gamora staying in there without a care in the world, flirting and whispering.

To say that she wanted to rip both of their heads off would have been and understatement.

Throwing yet another glance in the hopes of seeing the two, she let a sigh escape her lips before she tugged on Groot's large, wooden hand causing him to let out a confused noise.

"Come on, buddy, let's get you a fountain or something, yes?"

The living tree's eyes lit up in excitement. "I am Groot!"

Avril forced a smile on her face, pushing back the annoyance and tiredness. "Great."

Tugging him along while she secured Rocket with her other hand, she stepped down the few stairs.

She had actually spotted a small, more or less clean fountain near and had instantly thought of her friend. She hadn't told him though, in fear of Rocket biting her.

Just as Avril had managed to maneuver the three of them through the throng of people towards the small corner a voice caused her to jump, nearly letting the half asleep raccoon fall into the mud.

"Girl!"

"Drax?"

Letting go of Groots hand, who instantly leapt towards the water she whipped around. She quickly brushed her brown hair out of her face while steadying herself.

The burly man pushed through the crowd, his gaze fixated on her as a giant grin appeared on his face. Towering over her, he held up a clear bottle in right hand.

"I found the liquid you requested!"

She stared back at him in disbelieve, eyes flickering in between his and the bottle.

"This is water?"

The brunette reached up her hand in the attempt to get a hold of glass but soon realized that she was by far too small. Cursing inside of her head, she let her arm fall down again.

To her surprise, Drax instantly copied to motion, though his was much slower.

"The man assured me it was the best water of the galaxy.", he replied, excitement lacing his words as he passed the bottle to her only to have her groan in annoyance.

She really hated this night.

"Drax,", she said, somewhat desperate. "this is rum from Midgard." Avril turned the beverage so that the taller could see the fancy label. "Can't you read?"

The dark skinned male looked back at her in utter confusion.

"But he seemed so trustworthy! His shop was full of young, half-naked woman – he had so many customers!"

"He went to a strip club.", she whispered to herself, eyes wide as she tried to grasp the actual dumbness of her companion. "He went to a fucking strip club."

"You went to a strip club? Woah, hot stuff what did I miss out on?"

Avril did not know whom's head she wanted to rip off first, though deep inside of her she already knew that Peter leaving her alone, more so for Gamora, bothered her more than anything else.

[Please forgive me.]