THE FIRST TO STAY | PHILIP PEARSON ≪ON HOLD≫

IV.

PROTOCOL ONE; THE MISSION COMES FIRST

philip walked back to his garage, a smile on his face and a new number on his phone. his mind still ran wild, but instead of negative thoughts, it was filled with sadie. her smile. her voice. her laugh. she made him feel enough. she defended him when he couldn't defend himself. she didn't know him well enough, but she cared more than everyone he had met in the twenty-first.

he entered the base and yelled out to his turtle, "poppy, you would not believe!" he spun around after he hung his jacket up.

his eyes locked with trevor's. the older traveler cocked his head, "would not believe what?"

philip shrugged, "last time i checked, you weren't poppy."

trevor laughed, "how was the walk?" he sat down on one of the stools, "came in here to get you off your ass but i found you already off it."

"it was good."

trevor stared philip down. he watched him for a few seconds, philip squirming under his gaze.

"you met someone," trevor stated.

philip rolled his neck, staying quiet. trevor shook his head and walked to where philip had planted himself.

"a girl?"

nothing.

"c'mon, phil!"

again, nothing.

trevor sighed, "alright, then." he sat up, "one of the t.e.l.l.s for today didn't end up dying. thought you should know."

i know, philip thought. "okay. i'll check it out."

philip waited for trevor to go back to whatever he was doing before getting to work, looking up sadie thomas, her t.e.l.l. and anything he could find to keep him busy until something came up. though philip was a trained hacker, he didn't feel like going through sadie's information. she would tell him on her own account. he didn't want to find something he wished he didn't know or something that was too sentimental. he didn't want to pry.

it wasn't long until night fell upon the city. philip's phone vibrated and its screen lit up as he received a text. not many people had his number. only the members of the team, and sadie. he slid his finger across the notification, his phone asking for his passcode before he was faced with a text. a text from sadie.

sadie thomas
goodnight, philip.
and actually go to sleep, please!

philip pearson
i sleep

sadie thomas
please,
the bags under your eyes would beg to differ.

philip pearson
yeah, yeah
i will
goodnight, sadie

sadie thomas
goodnight, phil

philip put his phone away with a smile. a little sleep wouldn't hurt. he got up from his chair and walked into his room, falling onto his bed with a dazed smile, she cares.

the next few days passed fast; sadie and philip grew closer. they talked about anything and everything whenever they had time. sadie became philip's rock, and without any knowledge of it, philip had become her's too.

philip's next mission had come faster than he had expected. time flies when you're busy, he thought as he brushed his teeth. his team soon walked into the base, a mission was upon their hands. the quantum frame still needed to be found.

the travelers got into their cars and began driving to their destination. philip in the back of the truck as trevor drove. his fingers grasped at his phone before he decided to send a quick text to sadie.

philip pearson
good morning, sades
yes, i actually slept last night
thanks for the daily reminders

he got a text almost instantly.

sadie thomas
good morning, phil
how do i know you're not lying now?
or the last few days i asked?

philip pearson
you'll just have to trust me

if it weren't for marcy pulling him out from the back, philip would have seen sadie's reply and melted into a puddle. sadie, laying in bed still, contemplated a bit before sending the text. she waited a few seconds but felt destroyed when philip didn't text back. maybe he suddenly got busy.

for philip, the mission couldn't have gotten any slower. after having to shoot down one of the candidates, the gang had entered and captured three faction members who they had brought back to the base of ops. philip grabbed his phone the second he got into the car, reading over sadie's text and replying before sitting back in his seat and sighing.

sadie thomas
i'll always trust you

philip pearson
got a bit busy earlier
but
i'll always trust you too

it was an odd feeling for philip; feeling so comfortable with someone so fast. but sadie had grown on him in the three hours they had spent together the first day they met. and they had only gotten closer as the days passed. she made him feel like he mattered; unlike the voices that sometimes rang in his head.

"phil's got himself a girl," he heard trevor's voice tell marcy.

"what? no i don't." philip shot his head up, "what the hell are you talking about?"

trevor shook his head and looked away, "who's sadie?"

marcy smiled and turned around, "sadie, huh?"

philip narrowed his eyes, "david, huh?" he looked away from the two, "she's something else."