I Hate You Too

"We can't waver here," Luna says. She waits for a response, but the silence in the air thickens. Her head drops with a sigh, and she turns to the unconscious body leaning against the tree. It's been two days since the attack on the village. She pulled him out of the wreckage, carried his heavy body across the land. Now she's waiting for reinforcements. She checks his body for more wounds one more time, then pulls his jacket tighter on him, the way she always did for her little cousin when she was cold. It has become a habit now. She places a hand flat on his forehead, he wasn't sick yet, but the bandaged wound on his side said otherwise. 

She checks his pockets for anything useful but only finds multiple gum wrappers. She sighs, "You idiot, what a waste," she stuffs the wrappers back into his pocket. A cold hand stops her movement, grabbing onto her wrist. She freezes, glancing up at the boy who was unconscious for days. His eyes were only a crack open, dark bags as dark as eyeliner underneath. He was more pale than usual, but he still cracked a small smile, "Who are you calling an idiot?" he whispers in a hoarse voice.

Luna stares at him; he looks different without glasses, stunned for a minute before she pulls open his jacket, revealing his wound. "Because you have this," she blurts out.

"Thanks for pointing out my insecurities," he attempts to sit up with a groan.

"Why did you do that?" she frowns.

“Do what?”

“You shielded me.”

"I should be asking you that. You ran off on your own," the boy’s voice cracks with a rasp. She reaches into her pack, pulling out a bottle of water.

She hands it to him, "I was getting my sword. You didn't have to follow me," she huffs, now checking on his wound. Some blood was seeping through the bandage. As he drinks the water, he frowns and clears his throat, "You ran through the crazy attack for a sword?"

"Nobody else in that village was worth it."   

He scoffs and turns his head away, “Right. How could I forget your heroics.”

She glares at him, “If you don’t agree with my actions, then why did you follow me,” she begins unwrapping his wound to reapply new bandages. He winces a little as she moves her hands carefully.

“You were going to die if I didn’t go,” he grimaces as she wipes away the blood with a cloth.

She ignores him, “I need to disinfect it,” she says as she stares at the gash with focus. He nods his head, preparing his mind for the pain. Luna takes out a bottle of liquor. She notices his hand was gripping onto the gravel on the ground, staring up at the sky to distract himself. She pulls his hands onto her shoulders.

He gives her a weird look, “What are you doing?”

“Brayden,” she says. Her long platinum blonde hair falls over his hands. She blows her bangs out of her eyes, her bright blue eyes staring back at him. 

“Look at me,” she demands. Brayden grips onto her shoulders tighter. He nods his head. She opens the bottle and pours it over the wound, then his body convulses as he lets out a cry. 

“I would never die in that pathetic village. The villagers already died before I ran in,” she states. The grip on her shoulders gets tighter. He cringes and reels before responding, “You psycho! You always leave people behind!!” 

“How does that make me a psycho? This is survival of the fittest. If they die, they die. It is not my problem,” She provokes him as she starts wrapping his wound.

“THEN I SUPPOSE YOU DON’T NEED ME!!” He shouts, squeezing her shoulders tighter. The pain was lingering. He seethes, gripping onto her in hopes of the stinging to disappear soon.

She pauses for a moment, “That’s right. I don’t. I don’t need anybody.”

“Then leave me to die!!!” he spat at her.

"Maybe I will," she ties the bandage against his skin.

He groans, "Do it! You have no reason to keep me alive!" he grabs onto the sides of her arms, "You should have left me to die in that village with the rest of them," he speaks rapidly as if he were talking on his last breath.

On her last straw, Luna pulls him by the collar, close to her face; she glares at him, "You're right. I should have- you- you're a waste of space, time, and energy, why do I even bother with you loud-mouthed bothersome bastard?" her voice is low and deep, her breath harsh against his skin.

"Then why didn't you?" he glares at her. 

Her nostrils flare in a fury, "I wish I could, but they would blame me for leaving you to die," she huffs in his face, then drops his collar in disgust.

He laughs, "Keeping your reputation alive?"

She tilts her head, "How else will I get paid?" 

"You're insufferable."

"At least I'm the better company."

The boy scoffs, "You think you're a joy to be around? A sword-obsessed psycho that couldn't care less for any other human than herself?"

She sighs in response, "We can't all have a fixation on saving the selfish human race. Some of us weren't born on the bright side of the Earth."

"It doesn't excuse the way you treat everyone. You're the most unapproachable out of any of us."

"I don't give a damn about anyone. Everyone should be lucky I'm helping at all."

"That's the problem!!" he raises his voice. He sits up without a wince, forgetting about the pain. she scoffs, "What-"

He cuts her off, "You preach about your own morals, taking care of only yourself, trashing everyone left and right when you have helped us save countless villages and people. You call humans selfish when you pretend to be selfish yourself!! Make up your mind!!"

She straightens her back, matching his height and volume, "I call them selfish because I'm human too! I am stuck in this human world where if I don't treat others like trash first, they will hurt me first!! I can't be weak!! If I'm weak, then how am I supposed to SURVIVE!!" she screams back at him, her face twisted with anger and grief.

Brayden becomes silent, his face goes blank, "Luna..." 

She lowers her head, "I really do hate you," she mutters.

He glances at her bright blonde hair, his hand reaching up to touch the soft strands. He stops, spotting movement in the distance, dark blobs moving in the eyes of his poor eyesight. His hand seizes hers, pulling her onto her feet. "You-"

His hand covers her mouth, "There's movement up ahead. The raiders could be back,"

She turns her head. Brayden continues packing up their things until she tackles him onto the ground. He almost shouts to call out about his wound, but the sound of a bullet hitting the tree halts his movements. His mouth fell open, "What the hell, Luna?"

"Sniper. Get up. Follow me," she slings everything over her shoulder, making a grab for his hand, then dragging him behind a large rock behind the tree. They slump down behind the rock, their backs against their protection from the incoming bullets.

"You saved me again," he takes a breath.

Luna snaps her head at him. She takes out a pair of round glasses, placing them back on his face. "Because I'm going to kill you when we get back. You're weak. You won't survive," she threatens him as he gazes at her in confusion.

Then he sighs and shakes his head, "I hate you too."