Chapter 14: Join

I then pulled down my sleeves and stood up from the chair. Molly did the same and James turned to Molly with a slightly annoyed expression. "Now that the dramatics are over, shall we kick this weirdo out?" I turned to him but before I could say anything Molly responded. "No. We will go see Hank so he can assign Kane's placement here." James seemed genuinely surprised. "What?! This guy can't join our settlement!" Molly shook her head slowly with a small smile as she walked past him toward the door. "Anyone can join our settlement. It's the apocalypse, not a sorority house. We need all the humans we can get." 

I followed behind her and purposely bumped James' shoulder as I walked past him. For a moment I had forgotten my own strength and he flew to the ground as if he was hit by a car. "Ah!" I paused to Erin's laughter, and I was very glad that Molly had already left before she could see that. "Let's try that again." I then walked over to James and grabbed him by the shirt. I pulled him up to stand in one quick motion and let go when his feet were in a steady enough place to hold himself up. His face was very freaked out as he looked at me and I turned to walk beside him in order to tap his shoulder with mine as carefully as I could. He stumbled back in response but he didn't fall this time. I nodded and then proceeded out the door. "Nailed it."

James then ran up beside me as we walked into the hallway. "Hey, what's your deal? What did I do to you to make you persistently hit on my girlfriend and treat me like a nuisance?" I smiled down at him. "I'm insane, remember?" His anger faded and he looked away from me. "I'm sorry I called you that." My smile left my face as well. 'What the? Why is he apologizing? He's the dick boyfriend!' Erin exclaimed. 'Technically, he was only mean to you because you keep going after his girlfriend.' John added. 'He might actually be a good guy, why else would Molly date him?' Mary suggested. I then turned my head to whisper to myself. "What? The boyfriend is never supposed to be a good guy. How else would the main character get the girl in the end?" 

James raised an eyebrow at me and I turned to him with suspicion on my face. "Sorry, huh? I don't know what kind of manipulation tactic that is, but don't think you can fool me. I know for a fact that you don't deserve Molly." James shrugged. "You're right. I don't deserve her. No one would ever deserve such an amazing woman." I clenched my teeth. "Okay, smart ass. I might not see it now, but I will find out what's wrong with you. I will find out what makes you undatable if it's the last thing I ever do." James rolled his eyes in response. "Good luck with that." 

He then walked ahead of me to catch up with Molly, leaving me confused. He was such an asshole to me before but now I was realizing that it was justified. If I had any hope of making Molly mine I had to figure out something awful about James. Something that is break-up worthy. I was puzzled about how to do that as I caught up behind them and entered the same room we were in before. Hank was standing in the same place and was talking with some soldiers. When we caught his attention he turned to us with a smile. "So. How did it go?" Molly sighed. "It was a rollercoaster but we did it." I then bounced a little as I showed Hank my dinosaur band-aid. "Look! I got a band-aid!" Hank directed his smile at me. "Good for you."

James rolled his eyes again and Hank continued. "It will take a couple of days to get the results of the blood test, so we will all be crossing our fingers until then. Now, while we wait I would like to offer Kane to become a part of our settlement if he wishes." I crossed my arms and nodded. "If I can work with Molly, I'll help here." Hank then turned to Molly. "Is that alright with you?" Molly answered without hesitation which made me surprised. "Yes. I believe he is too great an asset to lose." I felt very proud all of a sudden, but at the same time so in love. 

Even though she only wanted to use my strength to save her species, I found it touching. Before things became too toasty inside, the moment was ruined by Erin yet again. 'What does hair taste like? Eat the hair of the next person you see.' I sighed. "Why do you always want me to eat things that I shouldn't?" Hank had heard me and looked at me with curiosity. "What?" I was pulled back into the moment and shook my head. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't talking to you." I didn't elaborate even though Hank's face suggested he was looking for further information. The subject was thereafter dropped and I was assigned as part of Molly's scavenging team. 

I decided to continue to live in my house after seeing the living quarters of the settlement which was pretty much just a bunker with a cot and some shelves. Besides, if I ever got Molly to go to bed with me I would prefer to take her to my own place where there would be room to roll around. So scavenging became like a day job for me and after work I would go back to my place for the night. It was a great schedule for me and it reminded me of a time in my life before everything went to shit. Jay and Sarah seemed okay with me joining their group and the only one who had a problem with it was James. Although, the only reason for that was because I would touch Molly at every opportunity. 

After a couple of weeks, I got to see Molly's and James' relationship under closer inspection. I was right about them working as teammates but was wrong about there being no romance between them. After a long day, James would massage her feet or temples. He would always have her back when shooting zombies. He would even start dancing with her at random times while we were gearing up. Every second of watching their happiness pissed me off. I tried and tried but I just couldn't find anything wrong with the guy.

He was the perfect boyfriend and I was the guy with voices in his head. Even so, I couldn't help the feeling that Molly wanted something else out of a relationship. Perhaps excitement. I could offer excitement. 'You are crazy.' John said in an unamused tone. I scoffed as I rested my back on a building behind me. Jay and Sarah were reloading their guns under a canopy and I was watching James and Molly laugh as they carried bags of food into the supply tents. "What the fuck, John?" John responded in exasperation. 'At this point, you're making excuses to come between them. Can't you just let them be happy?'