The Misfits
Chapter 23 - Elias

Elias

Elias had weird dreams. He dreamt he opened his eyes to a cherub face with hazel eyes that he recognized. Since Enya was the one in his room, he knew he was dreaming. Lips below the hazel eyes kissed the tip of his nose.

“You better get up. Peg will be back soon,” Jocelyn’s voice said.

“No. If I get up, I’ll have to put up with more of Enya, and I’d rather dream of you,” he said.

“Enya?” she asked, rolling away from him.

He watched her stand up, looking at the couch-bed. Spotting something, she walked over and picked up something.

Joss turned around, holding a pair of panties stretched out between her hands. “What did you do last night, Elias?” she asked.

Elias pinched himself. He wasn’t dreaming. Elias slapped his forehead as he rolled over onto his back.

“Whatever it was you were doing last night carried over to his morning apparently,” she said looking at him.

He looked down. “I didn’t… It’s not what you think. She… You…” He stopped and rolled on to his side.

Now wasn’t the time to try to explain. Joss tossed the panties onto the bed and walked to the table where she began eating in silence.

The shock of everything got him over his problem quickly and he jumped up to use the bathroom and wash up before sitting at the table across from Joss.

She was moving more food around than she was eating. It was a light breakfast of cereal and fruit, and Elias was suddenly not very hungry.

Joss didn’t look at him and kept her eyes down on her tray.

“Well, it looks like neither of you are very hungry this morning,” Peg said, making them both jump.

Elias needed to rig the door somehow to make some sort of noise.

“I’ll make sure there are drinks and protein bars available to you. If you’re ready,” Peg said, waiving a hand towards the door.

Joss hopped up and headed for the door, not waiting for Elias or Peg, who followed behind.

The door to the rec room opened and Joss went inside, followed by Elias and Peg.

“There’s been a few additions to assist you, as well as for general health. A foosball table, two treadmills, two rowing machines, some jump ropes, a half court basketball court area, and a tetherball area. Hopefully everyone will find something to their liking. I’ll be back before lunch.”

Elias started to thank her, but she walked out on him. Today, the world was mad at him.

Joss had taken off her scrubs and was stretching and warming up.

Elias realized he hadn’t had the time or forethought to put shorts on, and he couldn’t take off his top due to the bruises.

Joss had finished and was looking at the new equipment. The treadmills looked like the same VR versions as the bikes, and he saw Joss put on the headset and start one up.

Her pace started out slow, but she increased it like she was trying to run away from something. Probably him.

He decided to give her some space and he went to the workout machine to work on his arms and shoulders, since one of his shoulders was stiff.

Elias was surprised at how long Joss kept running. She must have run several miles before she stopped. Elias switched to legs, watching Joss go to the jump ropes and start there.

Not that it should have, but it surprised him again to see just how coordinated she was. He couldn’t jump rope to save his life. It was like he had two left feet, and both had some sort of nerve or muscle disease.

Joss jumped rope for ten minutes, then went into the pool to cool down.

Elias moved to the VR bikes to work on his cardio. He road for twenty minutes and got off, going to get a drink and protein bar from the small table that had been raised.

Jocelyn had moved from the pool while he was biking and was now using one of the rowing machines.

He grabbed another drink and walked over to her. “Drink. Not too much to fast, or you’ll get sick, but if you don’t drink, you’ll get dehydrated.”

She ignored him and kept rowing.

“Joss, you’re my responsibility and if anything happens…”

She stopped and looked at him. “Well, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to someone who you’re responsible for. I’ll talk to Peg and come alone so you don’t have to be responsible,” she said, snatching the drink from him.

Taking off the top, she downed three-quarters of it before setting it down and resuming rowing.

Elias watched her for several minutes. She rowed like an Olympic oarsman; however, she was turning pale.

Suddenly she stopped, jumped up and ran for the bathroom.

Elias followed her in, running behind her, when she left the door open. She hadn’t even made an attempt to touch it.

Only steps behind her, he found her bent over the toilet, retching. Elias pulled her hair back just in time, as she started throwing up the sports drink and the little bit she ate.

When her stomach was empty, and she finished retching, she washed her mouth out.

Elias closed the bathroom door and turned on the shower.

She looked at him as he approached, and only gave him limited resistances as he pushed her into the shower, not seeing to care that he was dressed.

He made sure she was wet, turning her around under the water, to cool her off, before pushing her back against the wall. One hand was on either side of her arms that were down by her sides, and he bent his elbows, closing the distance between the two of them.

He thought he saw fear in her eyes. Moving closer, he said, “I’m not sure what I did wrong, but I don’t think I deserve the cold shoulder. Last night, Enya came over. During the movie, she came on to me. We started kissing. I would have looked strange if I told her no. She put my hand on her breast, then took off her shirt, telling me I could – should – touch her. I turned her down, telling her it was too much, too fast. I went to my bed. She stripped under the sheet, tried to get me to join her, and when I didn’t, she… took care of herself. Probably to try to get me back over.

“But I’ll tell you a secret. The only way I could even kiss her to think of something else. Someone else. And that someone else was… you. So, like you and Halley doing what you have to do to get by, I had to do the same. And sure, boohoo, I had to kiss a girl to get by. That must have been really hard, right? Pretty girl who got naked for me. Made me touch her.

“I know you’re thinking I had it so bad, right? But imagine how hard it is to kiss someone who makes you sick. She might be pretty, but an apple can be pretty too, on the outside, and rotten to the core on the inside. So, no matter what happened last night, I did what I had to do to try not to draw much suspicion as I figure a way to escape this place and free all of us. And I did it knowing I want you, not her.”

He didn’t wait for her to say anything, he just kissed her.

She was stunned by all that he said and didn’t respond right away.

Elias ran his fingers up her neck and into her hair. He tipped her head back and kissed her neck and throat, going down to her collarbones. Making his way back up her neck to her mouth, he kissed her deeply.

She had both hands up the back of his top, kissing him back.

He pulled back from her and said, “I’d rather kiss a girl who just threw up, than one that makes me want to throw up.”

Joss groaned. “Why did you kiss me? I’m all gross.”

“I don’t care. You taste like sour sports drink and sunshine,” he said, kissing her again. “And it was you I was dreaming about, not her.”

“I believe you,” she said with a grin. “You’re poking me right now.

He didn’t need to look down to know what she was talking about.

Elias was going to have to back away, but Joss grabbed him and pulled him closer.

“I don’t care about that. I like feeling wanted, and not because I can pleasure you. You like me for me,” she said and kissed him.

They stayed in the shower, making out for a while before breaking apart, both a little breathless.

“Hopefully the shower covered our little talk,” Elias said.

“As long as we’ve been in here, maybe they’ll think we… you know. Although you’ll have to wait for that to go away before you can come out. It would be kind of obvious we didn’t if not,” she pointed out. “Unless you want me to…”

He kissed her again, then said, “No. Taking it slow, remember? Go and I’ll meet you out there shortly,” he said kissing her again before shutting off the water. “While you’re waiting, grab a protein bar and eat. And sip on some drink. Do Not guzzle it.”

“Sorry,” she said looking down again before leaving.

Elias thought about the night before, which got rid of his problem in short order, and he joined Joss. She was nibbling on a protein bar and taking small sips of a sports drink, like he told her.

They finished up by doing sets of sit-ups and push-ups. As an incentive on the sit-ups, Elias kissed her every time she came up. He decided he wasn’t going to hide it any longer if they were going to try to use that as a way to control him. It might as well be someone who he was interested in, instead of someone who turned his stomach.

They finished and Joss got dressed right before Peg came to get them, taking Joss first. She came back to get Elias and they walked to his room.

“So how was the new stuff?” she asked.

“It’s good for keeping fit. Jocelyn used a good deal of it today. The other stuff will keep the kids occupied as well.”

They got to his room and Peg left to get lunch. When she brought it back, he asked, “Can Jocelyn come over tonight?”

Peg studied him for a few seconds before she said, “I don’t see why not. You two seem to have gotten close.”

“Yeah. I like her a lot.”

Peg smiled like she knew a secret. Maybe they did get the wrong idea with the shower room.

Peg left and Elias took a shower and played games to pass time until dinner. When Peg came for dinner, she had two trays and Joss in tow.

Joss smiled at him and sat across from him as Peg left.

Dinner was similar to the night before, being setup more like a date than normal chow. They enjoyed each other’s company, talking and laughing about kid stuff.

Peg came back to collect the trays with two bags, and Halley. She set the two bags down. “I thought you might enjoy a third on your movie night. Clothes and medicine in one bag, snacks in the other. Enjoy,” she said before walking out.

“Ouch. No hanky panky tonight. Peg’s spiteful,” Joss said quietly.

Halley stood there where she was, looking at the two.

“You just gonna stand there?” Elias asked, putting his arms out.

Halley moved over to him and hugged him. “I’m supposed to watch you two and make sure nothing goes on,” she said into his ear.

“That’s fine. No one is going to be mad at you. Peg’s just being mean for me telling Enya no when she tried something last night.”

Halley looked at him, eyes wide.

“Hey,” Joss said, holding her arms out.

Halley hesitated before going to her.

Joss gave her a big hug, honestly meaning it.

Halley relaxed some when no one was mad.

The couch-bed rose when Peg left, and Elias said, “Okay, I know I’m going to regret this, but you two pick a movie or two.”

Joss let Halley pick the first one. They sat back to watch a movie about an elephant who could fly.

Elias sat in the middle, something the two girls decided, and shared the popcorn, which he held.

Both girls picked a second movie together, about a gorilla, wolf and a lizard who grow really big and try to destroy a city, building by building.

During the movie, Joss took his hand, holding it. Halley saw this and did the same.

Elias wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t want to be left out, she was jealous, or to make it look ike she was getting between the two of them. To him it didn’t really matter. He was with two people he cared about and holding hands with both didn’t bother him.

Halley started falling asleep before the movie was over, so he had her move down, and rubbed her back while watching the rest of the movie. When it ended, Joss quietly said, “So that’s where you started that.”

He nodded and crawled over her, pausing to stop and kiss her, before walking to his own bed.

Joss stayed quiet as he did it.

He laid there in the dark, listening to the breathing of the girls in the otherwise quiet room. Elias heard footsteps and saw Joss head to the bathroom, using the toilet before walking back.

She bypassed the other bed and slid under the covers next to him.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.

“What’s it look like? Joining you,” she whispered back. “Might as well give them a show since they tried to mess with the three of us.”

She started kissing him and he kissed her back. After a few minutes of this, her hand went down his chest and stomach to his waist.

“Relax and think of Enya,” she told him. “This will look wrong if you actually get aroused.”

Her hand started moving up and down, bumping into his belly every once in a while, while they kissed.

“Hmm, I didn’t think this through. This won’t end right. Don’t freak out on me,” she said, then scooted down under the covers.

She pulled up his top a bit and kissed his belly button. Her head replaced her hand and started moving up and down, with her kissing his stomach every once in a while.

Joss stopped once when he poked her, and she bit his stomach lightly, whispering, “Stop before I get an eye poked out. That or I do it for read.”

He quickly thought of bad things, so he wasn’t tempted to think about her doing it for real.

She tickled his stomach, making him jump and then emerged from under the sheet with a smile on her face.

“What was that for?” he whispered.

“Authenticity,” she replied. “It wouldn’t look natural if you just laid there. So, I made you react.” She snuggled up to him.

“What about you?” he asked.

She put a finger over his lips. Turning his head, she kissed him lightly and curled into his side, resting on the arm he put under her. They fell asleep like that.

He woke up the next morning with Halley on one side, her arm over him, and Jocelyn on the other, her arm draped over both of them, and he had an arm under each. Both arms were numb.

The lights were on, and Elias could smell food. He inwardly sighed, knowing Peg had been there already, if she wasn’t still there. And she had seen their cute little family display. Which, on one hand was a good thing.

Halley’s job was to keep them from doing anything and the best way would be exactly where she was. Not being able to use his hands or arms, he alternately kissed the heads of both girls, waking them up.

Both groaned and tried to move closer. This freed up his arms some, so he rubbed their backs, gritting his teeth as the circulation came back into his arms.

“Breakfast is already here,” he said to them. “Time to get up.”

Neither girl wanted to, but did, rushing to go to the bathroom.

Elias waited and gave Halley her injection, telling the girls to eat while he showered, then they could take turns after and he would eat.

When he got done, both girls were giggling.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Halley answered. She whispered something to Joss and took off to shower.

He sat down to eat, and Joss told him to eat turned away from the shower.

“Why?”

“Halley doesn’t want you peeking,” she answered.

Elias rolled his eyes but did it anyway.

Halley finished and Jocelyn had her turn, which Halley did the same to him. He didn’t actually think Joss told her to do it, but he went along with it anyway.

When Joss got out, Halley said, “He tried to peek.”

Elias looked at her. “Did not. But if I couldn’t peek, why did you two?”

Joss stayed quiet, but Halley denied it, although she turned pink.

“Whatever. I hope you were able to get a good look. Did you see anything?”

“No,” Halley said before slapping her hands over her mouth.

“Gotcha, Elias said and laughed along with Joss.

Peg came back and led them to the rec room. Various kids came in that day. Peg had mixed it up. Over the next several days, they alternated the groups with Elias and Joss’s workouts during the day and visits from people at night.

Sometimes it was Joss, sometimes Halley, sometimes both. Enya was included, but she didn’t say much and didn’t try anything at all. Bree came one night, as did Selim. They were probably trying to see how he got along with the other kids and in Bree’s case, if there was any attraction. She was easy going, so they had fun, but there was nothing there but friendship, especially since she was close to Jocelyn.

The kids got along well and banded together as a group, once they realized that it was no use to fight, when their right wasn’t with the other kids, but with the Facility.

Even Devon’s attitude changed towards the others.

Elias found out that the boy had been in a gang, which was the primary reason for his standoffishness. He tried to spend time with everyone, getting to know them and getting their background from them if they would tell him.

There was a pattern, he noticed, that a lot of the kids were from troubled homes, on the streets, or from families that were manipulated so they could obtain or kidnap the kids.

No one was there willingly that he knew of.

He was friendly with Enya, but she remained distant, and he wasn’t able to get any information out of her, but he didn’t try very hard.

Peg was still always present when required, but she seemed to be more observant and less talkative as time went by. She would talk and ask questions, but it was usually limited to what she needed to know, or specific things she wanted to know.

The kids enjoyed the new additions to the room; the older ones liked the new exercise equipment and basketball court, while the younger ones liked the foosball and tetherball.

When Joss and or Halley spent the night, Elias continued to work on his hacking, making headway into the Facilities systems.

He finally told Jocelyn what he was doing one night as they laid together. She wasn’t surprised, since he promised to get them out of there, and she believed him.

He told Halley the bare basics – that he was working on a way to get them out of there, so in the meantime, continue to do what they ask. Halley assured him that she would do what he said, tell them everything but what he specifically said not to.

Jocelyn did the same, telling Peg how her efforts to win Elias over were going. She told Peg most everything, leaving out a few of the more personal things they faked, knowing that Peg would already know, but that she was leaving things out that were above and beyond what Peg asked.

At least directly.

Peg had known her background and used the fact that Joss had been forced into growing up rather quickly as sex traffickers had used her as they pleased.

She expected Joss to use that abuse to get Elias to not only like her, but to need and want her. What Peg didn’t expect was that the two truly liked each other, and while Joss would have let Elias do whatever he wanted, Elias wanted her to feel loved.

They could be intimate and physical, without having sex. Elias was still a virgin, and with talking to Jocelyn, he knew she had issues she still had to deal with.

He knew what PTSD was, and Joss definitely suffered from it in regard to sex. They once tried faking it with their clothes on, and Joss nearly had a panic attack.

Elias tried to cover, making it look like he finished quickly, and since Joss was nearly hyperventilating, she didn’t have to look like she was faking it.

He laid, holding her after, whispering to her that it was all right, and that that wouldn’t happen again. Elias assured her that he would never touch her, and certainly not force himself on her, no matter what.

They would stick to whatever she was comfortable with, and they would figure out something she could tell Peg as an explanation.

Jocelyn spent the rest of the night with her face buried into Elias, quietly sobbing, as he held her, assuring her everything would be fine.

Halley still played the jealous girl, getting between the two, but she cared about both of them. While she still kind of had a crush on Elias, Joss grew to be like a sister to the girl, even helping her with her shots when she had on pants, and it was a thigh rotation.

She didn’t care if Joss saw her in her underwear, but she still blushed furiously and felt awkward if Elias had to do it.

Halley got close to Bree, alternating her time between them all on rec days.

Enya was still derogatory towards Jocelyn and indifferent towards Halley and Elias. While she wasn’t trying to jump him anymore, he felt that if she had her way, she would force him to, just to show she was the dominate female around the place.

He also had the feeling that she had taken it as a direct affront that Elias had picked Jocelyn over her.

When talking to the other kids, he was always conscious of where Enya was and what she was doing. He didn’t want to give her anything she could use against him or any of the others.

That Friday night, Elias thought he managed to get into the control system for the doors. He wasn’t going to attempt to do anything, just yet, he had to get into the security system that the cameras were controlled from.

If he snuck around now, he would only get caught by whoever was watching the cameras. Once he was in that system, he’d attempt to see what he could do.

He went back to bed, joining Jocelyn as they had ended the pretense of sleeping apart.

She was awake and waiting for him, and he snuggled up to her back, spooning her.

He moved her hair and began kissing the back of her neck, then gently sucked on it, giving her a small hickey that her hair would hide.

“Elias,” she said quietly.

“What?”

“You’re poking me again.”

“Sorry,” he said, “Sometimes it just happens on its own.” He started to move back but she stopped him.

“Don’t. Eventually I have to get over this and honestly, knowing you, I think I kinda like it.”

She moved back against him, adjusting until they fit together like two puzzle pieces. Joss wrapped her arms around the arm of his that was under her neck and around her body, while Elias ran his other hand across her gradually flattening stomach, until they both fell asleep.

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