𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗥 | the boys 2

𝘷𝘪𝘪) 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐘'𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐀𝐘

The first time she'd ever seen open water - she'd been outside for half her life yet the sea was somehow still intimidating. Maybe the waves wouldn't seem so aggressive if she didn't have a pounding headache and she could hear the water over screaming in her ears. Plus, she was recovering from a heated conversation with Butcher about him apologising to Hughie. She had no clue why she was more concerned about Hughie's injustice more than ever but she chose to obey her feelings, as always - which was precisely why she was sat at the back of the boat with him, watching pitifully as he blasted the same, old Billy Joel song into his ears. She'd watched it with him so many times, she not only knew all the words, but knew even the tiniest specifics of the video, including the fact that Joel was playing another one of his songs, 'Piano Man', on a harmonica at the beginning of the song.

"Don't... forget your second wind..." Rowan whisper-sung to herself, growing subconsciously quiet as Butcher tapped Hughie a second time,"Sooner or later, you'll get your second wind..."

"Oi! Hughie!" He finally took his earphones out and Rowan stood, gripping the cold bar as she stood at Butcher's side, watching them both,"I said, how long are we gonna' be sulkin' about like some poncy, eyeline-wearin' emo twat?" She sharply jabbed him in the rib, prompting a hiss and tired glare to surface before he sighed, per her previous command,"Alright, I'll admit - I lost my bottle a bit when I 'popped you one' so... uhm... sorry...? There, I said it. We all square?"

Hughie's eyes shifted between the both of them before he swung for Butcher - but, being the meek, little thing he was, ended up damaging himself more in the process.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Rowan yelled over death threats and attracted M.M.'s attention to hold Butcher away as he declared,

"Woah! Kid's stark raving! Fuckin' Hell!"

"Let's just give it a fuckin' rest." Rowan warned, practically holding Hughie up as the others retreated from the heated moment. "Never thought I'd be the sensible one in a group of adults, but here we fuckin' are, eh?" She said softly, like when people tried to comfort each other. As they both stared out over the endless blue, since it was only safe for The Boys and Kenji miles from land, she tucked the sleeves of her dark purple hoodie past her wrists and fiddled with the chipped parts of the amulet.

"Is that the..."

"What's a second wind?" She interrupted. "Is like a person? Do I have one?" She asked innocently,"Do you have one?"

"I..." Hughie choked,"I don't know, Rowan."

____________________

"Kid, you're wanted as fuck." M.M. broke it to her as she sat down to watch the news with him and Frenchie - Kimiko was talking to her brother in one of the rooms below deck while he was chained up with duct tape around his hands to prevent his powers.

"Brilliant." She chuckled cynically.

"So, that's what you want?" He gestured towards her exhaustedly and leaned back,"That's really what you've been working towards? You want everyone to hate you?"

Rowan smirked and folded her arms,"That's exactly what I want." Upon Hughie's entrance, she stood up and offered him her seat,"Good, you're here - I gotta' pee, can you tell me if the names Haley Graham of Noah Perez come up?"

"...Sure."

As much as it pained her to admit it, she was worried about Hughie - that kid was falling apart before her very eyes and it was extremely disconcerting, especially with the amount she was 'ignoring' her own vomiting up whatever she ate.