บท 8: Heated Dispute and Cleaner Looks
Oddly enough, Steve was able to feel better and have a more sense of ease when Ada came back. He had no hatred towards the people who had just gave them a descriptive fact that he lost 15 years of his life..... He just hates the fact that he had lost 15 years of his life and he was directing the feeling towards James and Yumi unintentionally.
"Hm?". Ada glanced at Steve with a sass filled smirk. She walked up to him and smacked his back "So, Yumi and James spilled the beans over your life eh? How old are you now?" She asked trying to cheer him up. "Late 30s? 40s?"
"I'm a 32-year-old virgin" Steve announces harshly. His head was lowered as he then stood up attempting to go back to his room. Ada quickly placed a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back down to sit.
"You think that's bad" She mumbled in his ear. She went in closer to Steve's ear and whispered "I'm about to be 40 and I still have a girly crush over a guy that I have known since I was in my 20s". Ada was hoping it would cheer him up so they could move on from this inevitable fact that she felt he needs to move on from.
"Cute..." Steve responds without hesitation. "You at least know what being 20 feels like". Immediately, Ada's expression shifted from kind and understanding to annoyed and uncaring.
"Jeez, do you need a tampon?" Ada said harshly, as she shoves away, and stands in front of him. "You lost a bunch of time and now you're taller. Get over it and grow up!"
"APPARENTLY I DID!!!" Steve snapped, as his head shot up, glaring at Ada with red hot eyes. Ada cocked an eyebrow, in reaction to Steve snapping at her. His shout scared James and Yumi. Yumi took a step back, as James instantly pointed a pistol at Steve. Ada's eyes saw the pistol in her peripherals and stood in front of it blocking the way.
"Lower the gun, James" Ada ordered. Steve, only now realized what had just happened. His anger was gone and the pit in his stomach sunk deeper as he began to overwhelm himself with fear. Steve shakes unsure of what to do or how to respond. Staring at the moment that unfolds in front of him, he keeps behinds Ada's back
"You're kidding?!" James snaps "This freak was about to kill you for hurting its feelings!... You're really going to defend this thing?!" James was truly baffled to Ada's heated instincts to defend Steve. His hands started to shake since he knows what it means to disobey Ada Wong's demands.
Ada took a step closer and easily grabs the gun out of James's hands. He yelps and cowers pathetically. Ada examines the gun and laughs to herself. She then looks back at James and defends Steve more.
"1... No. HE wouldn't kill me." she states. "2. Steve is just being a kid. Just trying to prove how emotional he can be. A teenager's tantrum. Nothing more, nothing less" Ada turns to see Steve and Steve stares back even more baffled than James.
Why is she defending me? What's her goal out of this? Steve thought to himself. She obviously has her own part in all of whatever this facility is and was, so why would she risk it all for me? She definitely isn't doing it out of the kindness of her heart. It's hard to tell if she even has one. Am I somehow important to her? Does she even care if I die? She must! She wouldn't have put herself in front of an armed gun if she didn't. Either way, she just saved my ass, so I can't be mad...
Ada turned her head back to James one last time "Oh! 3. Next time you want to kill something, turn off the safety" Ada mocks jingling the pistol in her hand and then turns back to Steve. She could see a thankful smile. She felt something from that smile. Something she has not felt since she was a kid... She felt appreciated.
"Yumi, Steve!" Ada said sternly. Yumi and Steve sat straight presenting themselves fearfully. "Follow me to the nurse's office", her tone was back to being her natural voice as she exited the small lab. Steve and Yumi glance at each other, and quickly follow her out, leaving a frozen and lost in thought James. A few seconds pass and Steve comes back with his head peering through the doorway
"Hey, you gonna' be alright?" Steve looked at him genuinely concerned. James cowardly jumps when he sees Steve's head. James stares at him for a few seconds but became even more shocked that Steve went out of his way to see if he was OK, even after James was seconds away from putting a bullet in his head. James thought for a second and hesitantly nodded to him. "...OK, then" Steve's head leaves and James hears his feet jog back over to Ada and Yumi, catching up
Steve caught up rather quickly and was side by side with the 2 girls and felt awkward unsure what to say. He opens his mouth about to speak but Ada speaks up
"It can be very difficult to work with children" Ada states openly "please... don't make it more difficult kids" she finishes as they enter the nurse room.
"Hey!" Yumi whines "I'm actually an adult! I'm 26" she blushes, realizing how young she already sounds.
"Yeah" Ada responds sarcastically, as she pulls up a desk chair "and he's in his 30's yet he just wanted to be emo, cus' he found out he NEEDS to grow up, now sit!" Ada demanded at Steve. Steve quickly did so and wondered what they were doing here but things started to make sense when Ada handed Yumi scissors. Ada then shows Yumi a picture on her phone and Yumi gave a shocked expression and then looked at Steve imagining the hairstyle on him.
"...Oh Damn, he WOULD look good with that hair" Yumi shouts almost sounding attracted to Steve for a second. "Are you sure you want to use HIS hairstyle?"
"Just do it, if it doesn't work on him we'll just shave him balled" Ada said jokingly.
"You'll die if you do" Steve said being absolutely serious.
"I'll let you to it then" Ada says teasingly to Yumi as she leaves the nurse's office. Yumi sighed, and then laughed awkwardly, hoping Steve was joking but knew there was a chance that he actually would.
She stood behind Steve with scissors in one hand, and a comb in the other, she blushed knowing that she had not done this in a long time. Roughly five years. She first straightens his hair and remembers that the hair needs to be slightly damp in order to cut it properly
"Hey, there's going to be 2 things I need permission for. Wet hair, and no shirt" she blushed with a soft smile as she spoke
"Umm.. sure you I'm fine with that but why the shirtless...ness?" Steve wondered
"Uhm... Haircut reasons" Yumi Stated, hesitantly "Plus, you need a shower after this anyways. Best to have a still relatively clean shirt afterward". Steve sat there thinking unsure for a second but figured it is a valid reason, and Yumi seemed kind enough to not deceive him. He did just as she requested, and removed his shirt. His chest was very lean, but he was a bit too thin to find attractive in most opinions. She still gave Steve a run down on his abs, and chest. She still smiled liking what she was seeing. Steve's skin was tight enough to see all muscle and rib. His chest would rise, and fall through his breathing. Steve's cheeks were slowing getting red, as he realized that Yumi was just staring at this point.
"....c-...can you not?" Steve hoped she would come back to him if he said something to her. She quickly looked up into his eyes realizing how open she was being and was quickly flushed red. She silently nodded harshly, rushing to turn away to the sink. wetting her hands, she gave a smile and then felt worse.
"I'm not saying you can't stare" Steve spoke up knowing she should not feel bad over eye-boggling "you can do that while you're cutting. It's not like I haven't been wanting to stare back this whole time." he flirted, unsure if what he just said sounded creepy, or cute.
Yumi blushed and quickly took his statement as a flirt as poor as it was. She wrestled Steve's hair with her wet hands. Yumi then leaned down and whispered into his flirting back saying "why haven't you, yet?" she teased.
"Cus', I don't know if you stare at me for being cute, or different" Steve responds. "I mean, I get it. I'm a new project to easily get your hands on, and you guys don't seem to be busy so putting all of your time on studying me and making me whatever you all want me to be would... make sense?" He stated that last part as if it was a normal sentence, but ended it unsure if it really did make sense in normal circumstances. Yumi was silent as he spoke. Clearly, Steve didn't know Yumi enough to judge her actions. She carefully snips, as she drowned out his ignorant comments in her focusing. Feeling angry over it she just went faster in cutting Steve's hair
"I also wouldn't want to stare if you didn't want me to" Steve finished his statement as he then waited for her response but she doesn't respond. He turns to look at her and she was clearly upset with the words he had said. Her eyebrows were pushed down and she had lines showing. She quickly blushed when Steve looked up at her and Yumi grabbed his head and forced it to look forward "I wasn't done there!!" She yelped in a cute high voice.
Immediately, Steve was feeling g bad for what he had said but felt it was awkward enough that he was a dick to the person cutting his hair. One more wrong move and she could make him bald without him knowing it.
Minutes pass and she was nearly finished and neither had said a word both feeling awkward and unattached from each other. Eventually, she finished his hair
"I'm done" Yumi states sternly as she walks to the sink and washed her hands.
"Thank you, very much" Steve says as he gets up from the chair and looks at a mirror.
his hair had a medium-length style that contrasts the top with the perimeters. The hair is left long on the top while being slightly trimmed at the back. his bangs hung at his sides and were well down to his cheeks.
"This haircut is very classy.. I love it! What was your preference?" Asked Steve. Yumi looked at him and gave a smirk and then was back to her 'I'm not in the mood' face.
"Ada has a picture of her crush and she said it would look good on you... she was right."
Steve blushed with a small smile and was unsure what to say or do now. He knows he's awkward for many reasons but he wants to talk to her a bit more. She quickly started to head off and he knew he had lost the battle of conversation once again.
"...gah! Yumi, wait!" Steve barked to stop her in her tracks. She did. She also looked at him coldly. This was his chance, to speak. To create something out of the easy mistake he had made. What to say.. what could he say that wouldn't make him sink deeper in the shame of disgust and annoyance. He had little tike to think. Must say something now!!
"How do I contact one of you, if something important happens and none of you are with me"
.....Flawless.....
She stared at him hoping it would be an apology and to no surprise, he didn't. Yumi pulled out an odd rectangular item out of her pocket that had a button on it
"You know that device in every hospital room? The one that's literally a red button that you only press when an emergency is happening?"
Steve quickly nodded knowing what an emergency button is.
"It's that. Me, James, or Ada will be heading your way if you press it, but press it when you really need to. We don't want a cry wolf on our hands". Steve continues to nod as he grabs it and examines it to himself silently.
Steve quickly thought of a valid question "But, what exactly is and emergency he-" when he looked up saw that she was already gone.
"....Dammit."
Steve stood there, holding the small button. He looked about the room and found a bathroom. He enters the white clean tiled room and saw a shower and a few towels presenting themselves, as though it was an invitation to wash himself. He openly took the invitation, as he placed the button on the sink and started undressing. By the time Steve had gone fully nude he was feeling the pit of regret sink even deeper. He wanted to apologize to Yumi, and tell her a flirt but his lack of communication skills had screwed him over.
Steve sat on the toilet, slipped his hand into the shower, and twisted the knob. He heard the water rush through the pipes and spatter and sputter out the holes of the shower head. Air bubbles would occasionally shoot out and it would sound like loud spouts. He sat there staring at the white tiles. This harsh feeling he feels was oddly familiar. A feeling that seems as though he has felt recently. Steve knows that can't be possible since he only woke up a while ago.
He shook the thought away as he entered the shower. The steamy hot water smacked him so soothingly. Quickly, Steve started to wash himself. The blissful note that he hasn't showered in possibly more than 15 years. It made Steve feel ecstasy over the hot clean water.
Another air bubble sputters out...
For some reason that instantly killed the mood. Not in a normal way. Steve felt his heart race and his breathe grow heavy. He figured the water was too hot, so he twisted the knob a tad and the water started to cool.. then get cold then too cold.
The moment he reaches for the knob, another air bubbles sputters louder and longer than before. It jumps Steve and his feet slipped. He falls over and slams his head on the tile wall. His eyes close and the air bubbles sputters, stop sound like sputters and now sounds like an automatic gun going off.
Steve's eyes open and he sees that he is in a dark room and that he was staring at a door of some sort. Steve had no control over anything. He wanted to look around but all he could do is bare witness that his vision was starting to grow blurry from trying to hold in tears. His arm was extended out to his side and was spraying out bullets from a Micro Uzi.
He was breathing heavily and felt as if he wanted to cry. And he then heard someone say his name. A girl. She said it with such sadness and sorrow.
"No.. Don't say my name like that!!!" Steve tried to shout, but nothing came out. He was trying everything he can to break free, but to no avail he just heard himself mumble something as Steve then headed towards the door.
Steve felt his heart race. He didn't want to see what will happen next. He didn't know what would happen but he knew it was not going to be good. Steve was trying to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to halt everything and be free of this dream.
Steve reached for the doorknob and then felt a sharp pain on his cheek. Steve's eyes close to let the real tears drop. His eyes opened and he could hear the shower running and could hear a girls voice shouting out to him
"STEVE!! STEVE WAKE UP!!" Ada shouted to him. He was laying on the ground with his head resting on her lap. Ada was staring down to him. Steve's eyes were spasm in and twitching.
Steve eventually came to, and saw Ada looking down to him with a confused and worried look. He quickly leaned up and then felt a sharp pain in his head. He layed back onto Ada's lap, and instinctively huddles to her, shivering, and silently weeping.
Ada realized that something had or was happening to him and knew that he needed to be comforted. She knew what she should do and it was going to feel both cringy and awkward for her. She hesitantly rubbed his head as she quickly covered him with a towel.
Footsteps could be heard as Yumi and Jason entered the bathroom.
"What the hell happened?!" Jason stuttered as his eyes peered through the bathroom. Yumi stared at Steve worried beyond thought for him
"Steve sounded the emergency button...." Ada stated "... I guess he just isn't ready for a shower". She said mockingly but was clearly worried none the less. Jason stared at the sink baffled. Steve felt slightly better and leaned up.
"When.... when did I press the button?" Steve asked softly.
"Well, I can't say for certain, but whatever happened during your shower. You were scared enough to want everyone to know you were not OK." Ada pointed at the sink after she responded.
Steve was unsure what she meant until he looked at where Ada was pointing. He was baffled and scared when looked at the spot on where he placed the emergency item.
That whole section of the sink was gone and demolished. Steve then stared at his hand and saw the remains of the button stabbed and sticking into the palm of his hand.
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