I got this idea while listening to The Fray, I hope people like it.Scout had been acting strange lately, lost his vigor. To most of the team it was a relief, no bouncing around or bragging about his various deeds over the course of the battle that they had all seen. However, it worried one of them, the only one it seemed. Engineer was worried, something was really wrong with the boy, not just the mood swings of a young man. The Red Scout had been quiet, almost reclusive really, normally the young man was everywhere at once, bothering whoever happened to be in the room at the time. Honestly the kid tried even the Engineer's patience, but he would never wish the bleakness that currently possessed the Scout on anyone. After debating the matter with the rest of the team, who had all claimed indifference, Engie decided it was up to him and made his way to Scout's room. Knocking twice he let himself in. He found the Scout lying on his bed, curled with his arms over his stomach defensively. "Scout?" Engineer whispered roughly, wondering if perhaps the boy was sleeping, "You awake? It's almost time fer dinner." The curled lump gave a noncommittal grunt. "I didn't see ya around fer lunch either, ya mus be starvin'." Again the Scout-lump just grunted. Engie sighed and shut the door behind him quietly as he entered, "Scout, you gotta talk to me boah, what's wrong?" Scout sat up, glared at the older man, and made for the door. Engineer quickly placed a hand on the cold steel, "Siddown boah, we're just gunna talk. Tell me what's wrong!" The kid just smiled at him, there was something tortured in that stare. Engineer tried to hold his gaze, but couldn't bring himself to look so deeply into the smaller man. The connection broken, Scout pulled on the door and the broad man merely stepped aside. His eyes, like windows to his soul, had forced the big man to look away on the edge of understanding. Wishing he had kept his welding goggles on, Engineer watched Scout make a left deeper into the base as opposed to the mess hall on the right. Sighing his ineptitude, the Red Engineer made his way toward the food. Why had he even bothered?
block of text. so hard to read.
Learn to not simply copy/paste from Microsoft word, I must. I'll format the next section...
It's all lumped, makes it uninteresting. I FIX FOR YOU:---Scout had been acting strange lately, lost his vigor.To most of the team it was a relief, no bouncing around or bragging about his various deeds over the course of the battle that they had all seen. However, it worried one of them, the only one it seemed.Engineer was worried. Something was really wrong with the boy, not just the mood swings of a young man.The RED Scout had been quiet, almost reclusive really. Normally the young man was everywhere at once, bothering whoever happened to be in the room at the time.Honestly, the kid tried even teh Engineer's patience, but he would never wish the bleakness that currently possessed the Scout on anyone.AFter debating the matter with the rest of the team, who had all claimed indifference, Engie decided it was up to him and made his way to Scout's room.Knocking twice, he let himself in. He found the boy was lying on his bed, curled with his arms over his stomach defensively."Scout?" Engineer whispered roughly, wondering if perhaps the boy was sleeping, "You awake? It's almost time fer dinner."The curled lump gave a noncommittal grunt."I didn't see ya around fer lunch either, ya mus' be starvin'." Again, the Scout-lump just grunted.Engie sighed and shut the door behind him quietly as he entered, "Scout, you gotta talk to me boah, what's wrong?"Scout sat up, glared at the man, and made for the door. Engineer quickly placed a hand on teh cold steel."Siddown boah, we're just gunna talk. Tell me what's wrong!"The kid just smiled at him, there was something tortured in that stare. Engineer tried to hold his gaze, but couldn't bring himself to look so deeply into the smaller man. The connection broken, Scout pulled on the door and the broad man nearly stepped aside. His eyes, like windows to the soul, had forced the big man to look away on teh edge of understanding.Wishing he had kept his welding goggles on, Engineer watched Scout make a left deeper into teh base as oppossed to teh mess hall on the right. Sighing his ineptitude, the RED Engineer made his way toward the food.Why had he even bothered?---So, is Scout pregnant or something? That's what it leads me to believe. Tell me he's not, please.
Thanks for the formatting Anon!Seems interesting this does. Though what's with all the teh?
FINGERS CANNOT KEEP UP WITH BRAIN is with all teh "tehs" D: and it makes me sad.
Olive juice, anon! If anybody wants the next part, it'll be up in a few days due to exams taking up my time currently.
No, he is just being emo!scout right now, probably should have had Scout wrapping his hands around his knees or something... And would anon mind formatting the next one once I finish it, I cannot do so for the life of me....
I will get to it as soon as I see it up, 'kay? I AM A FAGGOT HUMP MY RUMP Glad to be helpful.
Can't wait for the next instalment.
The Red Engineer decided to try once more to get through to the Scout, he knew there was something really wrong with the kid. Engineer searched through the storage pantry after another mostly quiet and somewhat awkward dinner. It might have been less awkward if not for the fact that Demo passed out in the middle of eating. Or if following the loss of consciousness he had not started having convulsing night terrors. The Heavy kindly and discreetly tossed the Scotsman over his shoulder and dropped him off in his room before returning to the table. Finding what he had been looking for, a large can of generic soup, Engineer quickly heated the entire can over the team stove. Throwing the liquid into a bowl with a few packets of saltines and a spoon on the side, Engineer trayed the meal and delicately made his way to Scout's room. Knocking while balancing the tray against his chest with one hand he recieved no response. Trying the knob he found the door locked. Moderately worried, Engineer reached into his front pouch and withdrew a narrow flat headed screwdriver, deftly spun it around between his fingers, and jimmied the lock. "Scout?" The lights were dimmed and the covers a mess, "You in here?" Hearing a muffled reply, he turned to a slightly better lit corner. Curled with a notebook and pen Scout appeared to be writing something. "Boah, I brought you summat to eat." Scout glared up at him. "I ain't hungry." "Nonsense, you're a growin boah, ya need sumthin ta keep runnin like ya do." Another glare and Scout turned back to scribbling. Setting the tray down on a nightstand Engineer stepped to the kid and pulled him up by his shirt, "You listen here an listen well, I will pour that soup down ya throat if I hafta. Now, are ya gunna be a young man or do I need ta treat ya like a kid?" Grudgingly the smaller man pushed the calloused hands off his shirt and sat down on his bed next to the bowl. "You certainly do know best, now don'tcha Engie," Scout sneered. "I do, indeed. Eat," was Engineer's reply. Engineer took a seat next to Scout, watching him silently as he made sure the kid got something into his system. "So, what're ya writin' in there?" Engineer asked casually, pointing to the notebook. Kicking the book under the bed, Scout gave Engineer yet another glare, "None of you're business." Engineer sighed, he really was no good at this discreet thing. "Haven't seen you 'round the base much, where ya been?" "My room." That line of conversation was going nowhere fast. Better to stick to what he was good at - bluntness that is, not military engineering, although... "Look boah, I know there's somethin' wrong. Hell even Demo can see it. What. Happened. Last week ya were jumpin around, struttin like a rooster, now we're lucky ta see ya once a day." "I just, I can't do this no more!" Engineer raised an eyebrow, "Do what?" Scout looked at him as though he were insane, "Killing people! Taking their lives for no other reason than some bitch that sounds like she smokes three packs a day tells us to! Last week I smashed in some dumbass Spy's face, but he didn't die right away, he j-just stared at me with blood an' shit comin' outta his mouth before fallin' over! Do you know what I saw when he looked at me?" Now Engineer understood, he had felt the samething back when he first started. Placing an arm across the smaller man's shoulders he leaned in, "Ya saw a dyin' man's last plead fer life. I know what it's like, boah, I been there." Scout shoved the arm off himself, "No, you don't know anything! Just get out! Leave!" Engineer stood and picked up the tray, which was mostly empty. Softly he answered, "I'll go if ya want, but jus' remember, I'm here if'n ya ever feel like talkin'. Do ya really want me ta go?" For a moment Scout looked so much like the boy Engineer referred to him as, scared and desperately lonely. The moment passed and Scout straightened, "Go, get the fuck out. You don't know nothin' about me." True to his word, Engineer left quietly. Tossing the tray carelessly into the sink, Engineer once again sighed away his woes and pleaded to any God that would hear him that Scout had heard the second piece of his last sentence.------------------- TBCHow was this for formating? I SUCK AT IT, but I thought I would give it a shot... repost it better if you want.
No offense meant, but there are a few grammatical problems. Perhaps you could acquire a beta?
Would probably be a good idea, though could you let me know - are they spelling errors or syntax mistakes? I typed this up on a bus on an iPod, so there are bound to be some problems.
^That was me, obviously.
Mostly syntax. I see some homeless commas that would like to be adopted.However, the "None of you're business." causes me mental pain.
Not bad, but not good either, however, it is nice to see a fic about the remorse of killing in a war. Your formating is getting better, but grammar mistakes happened often. :p Besides that, I'm really interested on what happens next! :D
*facepalm* Damn you iPod spell check! It automatically switches your to you're due to the frequency of use thing in it. No more iPod typing for me, I'll stick to my laptop. This means it will probably be a few days before the next piece, but as a wannabe English major, that is just embarassing.
>>17 It happens to the best of us.
Despite the setbacks, please continue! I'm a sucker for some trauma drama.
Honestly, I was following the story more then the actual words. For some reason, I didn't see any mistakes... Then again, I'm munching on chips.But yea, I'd like to see this little story continue.
I really would like if you were to continue despite everything mentioned before. Please?
Sorry people, my laptop broke then my iPod cord snapped after wrapping around a swivel chair so I am just now getting the third part typed up. Please excuse grammar mistakes, my fingers were not made for touchscreens.
^PS- I am still deciding on a nicname.
FFFFFFFFFF. Somehow I find myself drawn to this story, ffs moar. Why god, write moar.
Engineer managed to catch Scout alone just after the announcer gave them thirty minutes to the next mission. The kid had stumbled out of his room and made his way slowly to the main room where the rest of the team waited. Engineer caught Scout by the shoulder and pulled him into the empty rec room as he walked past. "Scout, look, I know you don't think there's a reason to fight, to kill, but god dammit you're here an' if ya don't kill them they don't got no qualms about killin you." Scout's eyes narrowed with anger, "I told you, Engie, I don't need none of your help, I don't need you to treat me like some little kid! I know what I'm going to do, I know how to handle myself!" Engineer was taken aback slightly, "Boah-" "I ain't no boy, Engie! Just SHUT UP!" "I just want you to watch yerself," Engineer almost whispered, "I know things look bad, honest to god I do. Before we go fight the BLUs, come take a walk with me around the base. I just want you ta talk to me fer twenty minutes, that's all I'm askin for." Holding his breath, Engineer held out a hand to the kid. The seconds ticked by like hours, Scout's eyes shifting between Engineer's and the hallway. Finally, "Okay." Scout grasped Engineer's gloved hand in his own wrapped one and allowed himself to be led farther into the base. Letting go, Scout merely walked alongside Engineer silently. Engineer tried to judge how the boy was doing since their talk almost a week previously. The dark rings under Scout's eyes seemed a bit lighter, but that could just be hopeful thinking. Time ticked by and Engineer wracked his brain for the right words."Scout," Engineer began, "I know how you feel. I felt the same way. What right do we have ta take the life of someone else, to judge ouselves more important? Truth is, you either learn to live with it or die at the hands of someone who has." Scout looked far too pensive once the words left his lips. "What-What I mean ta say is that you have to learn to deal with it," Engineer amended hastily. Scout opened his mouth to reply as they rounded a corner into the meeting room where Soldier stood shouting battle strategies to Sniper and Heavy, both of whom had been in the fort for months longer than Soldier,then quickly closed it. "Boah," Engineer questioned softly, "what are you plottin?" Scout gave that same haunted smile Engineer received the first time he tried getting through to the kid. "Sorry Engie, things aren't the same as they used to be. I'm really sorry." Before Engineer could try to force the slighter man to answer his question the announcer gave them their sixty second warning. Sniper made a dash for his nest as Medic took his place at Heavy's side. Scout ran off with Pyro to another exit and before Engineer could give chase Soldier forcibly directed him to the resupply to build a teleporter. Fifteen minutes into the mission Engineer could finally leave his post at the briefcase to the level three sentry. Shotgun at the ready, he ran to the front of the base looking for Scout. Soldier and Sniper kept the enemy team from peeking out windows as Demoman fired sticky grenades at the main entrance to the base. The BLUs were pretty well trapped in the building, but that left little chance for an infiltration as the other entrances would be tightly guarded. Engineer was almost entirely uninterested in what else was going on however, he instead combed the field searching for Scout. It was four minutes before Engineer finally spotted him. Scout stood by the entrance to RED base, unmoving with his cap held loosely by his side. Engineer was stopped in his tracks for a moment, gears in his head jamming. What the hell-? Then he saw it. A blue dot appeared over the doorway of RED base. Scout spotted it as well and glanced up at the perch the BLU Sniper was undoubtedly waiting in, eyes burning with impatience. Engineer took off toward the kid at full speed, not daring to attract the Sniper's attention by shouting. It happened almost in slow motion: the dot flickered quickly along the wall of the base to Scout, hovering over his forehead for a moment. In the split second before BLU Sniper pulled the trigger, Scout turned to Engineer and gave him the first genuine smile he had seen in weeks. The shot reverberated through Engineer's bones. He thought he felt a small splatter of blood land on the front of his overalls, but Engineer was too shocked to take notice. Dimly Engineer realized the Sniper dot had moved, but he couldn't bring himself to find cover. The shotgun fell loosely from his hands seconds before he was bodily thrown to the ground. A second shot hit the dirt not far from where Engineer had been standing. "Och, are yew bloody insane?" came a slightly slurred shout from above Engineer. That explained the grenade belt pressing into his spine. A rocket exploded in the BLU crow's nest, though the Sniper had probably left once he realized they knew where he was. Before another shot could be fired, the announcer's voice cascaded from the RED base, they had successfully captured the enemy intelligence. Demoman had to literally drag Engineer back into the base where the team was celebrating a bittersweet victory. Except for Scout, it had been a bloodless victory. Spy had managed to sneak into the base while Medic hid just outside the door. Once Spy got outside with the briefcase, a BLU Pyro and Soldier giving chase, Medic Ubercharged him and got them both back to their own base before it wore off. Spy retired to his room first, claiming he was far too tired to celebrate his victory. Medic and Pyro departed next, Medic to restock his Syringe Gun with a new formula he had been working on, Pyro for a reason noone felt up to decoding. Engineer decided to make his leave next, Soldier and Sniper were distracted by Heavy's impressions of the Spy's victory using hand puppets and his sandvich. Demoman gave him a glance as Engineer made his way down the hall and to the left. Eventually Engineer was faced with a dilemma, did he allow himself into Scout's room and desecrate the newly deceased's possessions with his prying or did he depart to his own room and never learn what had been going on in Scout's mind. Swallowing loudly, Engineer tried the handle. The door swung outward. Engineer pushed his goggles down around his neck and, using the light from the hall, made his way to the lamp in Scout's room. The place was the way it had been the last time he had entered, only this time the bed was made. Knowing where he would find it, Engineer pulled the notebook he had seen during his last visit out from under the bed. A page stuck up from the rest, bent so the corners flagged out. Engineer opened the book to the page. It was a letter, slightly crumpled, near the very end of the pages. 'Dear Engie,' it began, 'If you are reading this it means I actually went through with it. I knew what I had to do ever since that first talk we had. I'm glad you tried to talk to me, but in the end it was always fruitless, I already made my decision. Talking more wouldn't have changed my mind, but it did make me realize that someone understood. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you more like you wanted me too, I think that would have only made this harder than it had to be. This bitterness has been inside me ever since I realized this isn't like the movies or stories, the enemy isn't faceless, he is just like us. No doubt you will manage to get my attention at least once before the next mission starts, you are damned persistent. When you do I am going to try to ignore you, but for some reason I can't seem to avoid hearing you out. I left my dogtags inside my pillowcase, they were my dad's. Take them. I want you to send this notebook back to my family in Brooklyn, I left the address on the last page. I don't think they are going to send my body home, I want you to make sure this does though. You can read the rest of the book, take as long as you want, but once you are able to, get it to my mom and brothers. As a final request: survive. - Scout' Engineer was speechless, the kid had known what he was doing the whole time. Slowly, Engineer reached into the pillowcase and sure enough, he was rewarded with the dog tags. Silently Engineer removed his helmet and slid the tags over his head and tucked it under his shirt. Putting the helmet and goggles on the bed beside him, Engineer flipped through the notebook. Inside where poems and quick sketches with the pencils they received monthly. They were surprisingly good, often the poems describing the sketched scene on the previous page. As he flipped past a drawing of a helmet and a wrench being caught up in the thorned vines of a rose bush, Engineer realized there was another presence in the room. A weight depressed the other side of the bed. "Ah see the lad was a poet and noone ever knew't." The Scotsman swung his legs over to Engineer's side of the bed. "How are yeh holding up, Engineer?" The Texan tried to form the appropriate words to describe what he felt, but his throat closed on him. Tears welled in his eyes and he had to shut the book and toss it to the side lest he stain the pages. A heavy arm descended around his shoulders. "We all knew this was comin, Engie, but only yew tried to stop the lad. There was nothing yew could do, but yeh did a hell of a lot more than any of the rest of us." Engineer felt the tears roll down his cheek, burning white hot trails all the way to his chin where they collected in the scruff he had. "What could I have done, Demo? What could I do that could have saved the boah's life? I told him I understood what he was goin' through, but I was wrong. He didn't need nobody tellin him it would be okay. He needed a friend to confide in, but I was too late, Demo," The black Scotsman held Engineer as he more or less sobbed into his chest, a scarred hand gently wiped tears from his face. "Too late, I lost him because I didn't get close when he first lost himself to the bitterness that consumes us all eventually if we don't fight it off." Demoman gently pulled the fully grown Texan man into his lap like a child and let his get out his insecurities on his shoulder.
Well, I punched this entire thing out at two in the morning after my email ate it, so it probably has a few things wrong with it. I should probably add an Adult scene now, to make it worthy of being in the Adult Fanfiction section, does anyone agree?Also: I decided on a nickname.So, is this just my own paranoia acting up, or is this entire fic a rewrite of a movie or book that lies just beneath my conscious mind? I swear it wasn't intentional if it turns out it is.