|| Starburst || // An Among Us Fan Fiction

Chapter 3 - A New Home

I open my eyes. I am lying on top of the boy in another enclosed space.

My eyes widen.

His face goes pink. He shuffles away from under me.

"Uhm-" He starts, his face filling with color.

Now it's my turn to laugh. As I do, my hair bounces around my head.

I feel like I haven't felt this feeling in forever.

The boy blinks, his face becoming a deep red.

"Stop it, will you?" He asks.

I smile at him.

"Oh? Why aren't you laughing now?" I smirk.

He looks into my eyes.

"Because. That wasn't funny." He mutters.

"And your hacking, cheating, and stealing is?" I say, raising my eyebrows.

He rolls his eyes, his face still darker than my own suit. I wipe my eyes, and observe where we are. There is a door to the right of me. With my arms, I crawl forward and reach up to the doorknob. Once I open the door, with lots of struggle, I crawl into the next space. I slowly lift my head, and I am filled with amazement. I am lying in what I think is a pod. On the back wall there are shelves upon shelves of things.

Toys, gadgets, books, sketchbooks, money- many more things that I feel like are illegal here. There are scattered blueprints that I can't read on the floor; there are many drawings on the wall, some elegant and dazzling, others murky and ugly. There is a bed- clearly made for two people- smashed into a small space in a corner. Out of everything, what shocks me the most is that there are cords jammed into the ground- all that lead up to a small T.V.

Before I can process any of this, the boy comes in from behind me.

"You like it?" He asks.

I look at him with utter shock. He gives me a sweet smile. Then, as if out of memory, he goes on his tippy-toes and hits a certain part of a wall. A small syringe emerges from it. He grabs the syringe and pulls it towards me. I recognize it. It's the syringe that gives me back my emotions. I shiver as he inserts it into my leg. I feel the pain as the liquid is pulled out. After a few minutes, the boy pulls away and puts the syringe back.

I feel as my legs start to come back to me. I feel excited, and I jump up as quickly as I can. The boy looks at me. I realize he is definitely a few inches taller than me, maybe even more. His face is still a little pink. He bursts out laughing. I roll my eyes at him. He laughs at anything.

"So. This is your pod?" I ask him, unflustered.

He seems a little disappointed; but he still answers me.

"Yes. It is. It took a lot of time." He says, clearly proud.

My facial expression is all he needs to answer me.

"You sure ask me a lot of questions." He starts.

"Well, I used simple hacking for my pod. I tricked the system into thinking I was bringing much less stuff than I did. They don't check you, they just send you off with your stuff, so it didn't matter how much I had. Besides, I made everything look small." He says.

I am still utterly confused. "Oh. The T.V.?" He asks. I nod.

"I analyzed the cords in the floor of the pod. Then I attached the T.V cords to places they would fit." He answers.

I am astonished by this boy's intelligence. He looks me straight in the eyes, smiles, and laughs. His face is so genuine. I can't believe how cheerful he is after being in this game for three years. Or at least I think he's been here for three years. He looks so much like he is my age. His eyes twinkle in a way I've never seen before. They look like they've been seriously hurt; but it never got to them.

"Can I call you Oakley?" I mumble, looking down.

I'm not sure how he responds with facial expression. In an extremely light tone, he answers.

"Of course. I would rather that than anything else you might have called me." He says.

I slightly smile. "Can I call you Amber?" He asks.

I hesitate. I'm not really fond of the name, but I guess he can. "Sure." I say. "But don't refer to me as Amber all the time."

"Alright." He exclaims.

I look back up at him. He seems to be smiling more than he was before. How is that even possible?

I smile back at him. It's a weak smile, but at least I know it's genuine. A few seconds later, the moment is ruined. I feel myself start to panic.

"Wait!" I yell, tensing up.

Oakley looks at me with a startled look. "My pod!" I add, falling to my knees.

I don't want to say anything else. Everything about my pod was special to me. Well, not everything- but my favorite possessions were there. I can't see Oakley's expression, because my hands are covering my eyes. I feel his warm hands as he touches my back. His voice has changed once again. It is strained and painful. The tone of his voice is heartbreaking. But at the same time, his voice is reassuring, calming. It soothes me. I lift up my face to look at him. His eyebrows are sorrowful, but his mouth is in a small smile. I'm not crying. I don't feel anything.

"Will you hug me?" I ask.

Oakley looks taken aback. He widens his eyes. I can see a tint of pink wash over his face as I say it.

"Sure?" He says with uncertainty in his voice.

He moves closer, wrapping one of his arms around my back. The temperature in my body seems to rise. I feel safe. As his other arm circulates around me, I feel myself smile, not wanting this moment to ever end. I feel his low breath on my neck, and his beige hair brushing against the back of my head. I feel calm. I take steady breaths. I hear Oakley whisper into my ear. His voice is reassuring.

"You can stay in my pod. I'll sleep on the floor; I have extra blankets. You take the bed." He says.

He pulls away from me. I wish he would hug me more, but I would never tell him that.

"It's pretty late. How about we worry about this tomorrow?" He asks.

I nod at him. I look down and realize I am still in my suit. Oakley laughs and goes to rummage through his stuff for something. After a few seconds, he pulls out two shorts and two shirts that look exactly the same.

He smiles at me and says, " We can match!" In a cheerful tone. I shake my head in astonishment. He sure is something.

For the next few days, we linger as our next game draws closer. I lay in Oakley's bed as he sleeps on the floor, thinking about what we will do. Are two people allowed to go to the lobby at once? Or will one of us be killed? I'm overreacting. I tell myself. I bite my lip in anticipation, twisting and turning in the bed. I feel more alone than I've ever felt. I'm not sure why. Oakley is right in front of me. I sigh, trying to remember days from only three or four months ago. I can't remember when I first arrived here. What I do remember is being selected to come here. I was screaming, crying. I'd heard horrible stories of this program. Based on my experiences now, they had all been true. The trauma of murder and death.

My mom gave me a picture I had never seen of us before when I left. I took the one I had in my room with my sister, but I couldn't find any pictures with my oldest sister. I was disappointed by that, and I didn't have any time to look for one.

The program pulled me away before I could even utter an "I love you."