First Punch ➟ Kellic

F O R T Y F O U R

"What do you need my gun for?" Jake's tired voice questions.

"Please just tell me you have it," I beg, not answering him.

I tear through his bag, unable to calm the thoughts bombarding me. I hear him shuffling around, but I can't focus enough on any one thing to figure out what he's up to.

"Princess," I vaguely hear, but my brain hardly registers it. "Babe, hey," Jake says again, his hand touching my back. I jump at the contact, my attention snapping to him.

"Here," he says, handing me his revolver. I exhale deeply as I take it, trying to calm myself down.

"What's going on?" he wonders, looking worried as he helps me up from the floor.

I glance over at the still sleeping Lucas, unsure of how to go about this situation. "They're here," I tell him, images of people I used to consider family flooding my mind as I shove the gun into the back of my jeans. "They found us."

Jake's concerned expression deepens, and he looks towards the door. He takes a single step in its direction and I freak out, grabbing his arm.

"No," I blurt out, not letting him go. "They'll kill you without hesitation. You need to let me go out there, I'm our only shot."

"No way," Jake disagrees, shaking his head. "I'm not letting you get hurt for something I did."

I take a deep, shaking breath as I try to calculate how to handle this. Normally, I wouldn't be scared of them, but...I don't really know where we stand anymore. As far as I know, Carter's the only one who knows that I sided with their enemy. If he told the others...I'm not exactly sure how they would react. Any loyalty they had for me could've been destroyed.

"You're not going out there," I state definitively. "Promise me you'll let me handle this."

"You're not facing them alone."

I sigh, annoyed that he's putting up a fight. I know them better than anyone. Our only chance of getting out of this alive is if I try to level with them. They won't give anyone else the time of day.

"Jake," I slowly start, needing him to hear me. "If you go out there, you'll be dead before you can even open your mouth. Please let me do this."

He doesn't look as though he'll let me take another step. I hear their voices getting closer though. We're running out of time. If they get to us, we're all dead. I have to interfere.

"Please stay inside," I beg, not able to handle losing him. "I can do this."

When I finished saying the words, I almost cry. So many emotions are bombarding me that I can't handle all of them at once. Jake seems to finally get the message, chewing on his lip as he thinks for a moment.

Finally, after what felt like a long silence, he sighs, reaching out and pulling me into a hug. "I need you, Coop."

Okay, now I really want to cry. I just hold him back tighter though, begging whatever is out there in the universe to not let this be our last moments together.

After a few long seconds, Jake pulls away slightly. He looks deeply into my eyes, brushing some hair from my face as he leans in. I feel this rush of butterflies, closing my eyes as his lips meet mine. All of my emotions for him come bubbling to the surface, overriding everything else and only confirming: I can't lose him.

The kiss is deep, needy, and my fear starts to quickly override everything again. Is he kissing me like this because he's scared that it's our last?

Jake pulls out of it first, and I almost don't open my eyes. I didn't want it to end. I don't want to leave him. I'm so scared of the possibility that I might never touch him like this again.