Vessels || Dustin Bates

Everglow

"Dustin," a voice called. " Dustin. Come on, buddy. You gotta get up. Shay will never forgive herself if you don't." I groaned, opening my eyes. I was met by a pair of hopeful blue eyes.

"Hi, Ron." I smiled up at my friend. He smiled back.

"Hey, Dus," he greeted me. He helped me sit up.

"What happened?" I rubbed the back of my head.

"Shaylee, per usual. She completely ripped the place apart. Her Carnivore upgrades include some pretty strong telekinesis. Diaz and some Carnivores escaped, but they retreated." He explained this all while he got me a glass of water. "We got you back here before the poison could kill you. Saved your life. It's only been a few hours and I haven't had time to stitch up the cut, so don't do anything to it. Bleeding pretty much stopped. You should be okay."

I graciously drank the water, placing the glass down on the stand beside me.

"Where is Shay?" I questioned, looking back up at him.

"Getting her own rundown last time I saw her. She's probably in the control room planning. Runibor is here, Prox, Galactica, Sarfino, Linnena, and Hannahana are here. Dustin, they're all preparing for battle."

"I have to help," I said, trying to pull myself up out of the bed.

"Dustin, no. You can't. You aren't well enough. Your stitches probably wouldn't hold up!" He pushed me back down, holding me there. I groaned, giving in. "Thomas will be in soon."

Thomas walked in a minute later, holding a cup of chocolate chips.

"Hey, man." He smiled, waving. Ron clapped my shoulder before walking out. Thomas sat down, smiling. "Wild day?" A soft knock came from the door.

"Thomas, could you give us a sec?" I looked up to see Shay standing in the doorway. She hadn't changed out of the jumpsuit she had been given to wear while with the FEC. As much as I hated to admit it, she looked hot in it. Her hair was curled again, though. That always fascinated me.

Thomas nodded, leaving the room with his chocolate chips. The two of us sat in silence for a second before Shay took a deep breath.

"Dustin... I... I'm so sorry..." she whispered, looking down.

"Shaylee, look at me." She obeyed, her eyes searching mine. "I love you. I forgive you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She crossed the room, placing her lips against mine. I put my hand on the side of her neck, holding her hand at the same time. I gently pulled her down to sit next to me, deepening the kiss slowly. After a moment, she pulled away, resting her forehead against mine.

"I will spend the rest of my life with you." She put her hand over my heart. I smiled, kissing her again quickly. The door slid open to reveal Ben.

"Are you two reconciled? I need my partner back." He crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. Shay nodded, standing up from the bed. She leaned down to kiss my cheek one last time.

"I'll be back soon," she whispered. She smiled at me one last time before walking out the door with Ben. I was worried about her.

"We can't just sit here." Thomas didn't look at me. I had been on edge ever since Shay left with Ben. It wasn't like I didn't trust Ben, but I wanted to be there just in case. I didn't want her to be alone anymore.

"I know."

"Then why aren't we going?"

"Because you're a liability."

"I use to be. Now I'm not. We have enough tech that we could do something."

"I know. I'm just thinking about what we could use." Thomas's eyes found mine before a smirk crawled onto his face. "I think I have just the thing."