Jet's POV

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If you were to have asked me this morning what I'd be doing by midday there is no chance on earth that I would have answered you by saying I would bee sitting on the floor of a bank with twelve other people, who were hostages, eating crappy Mexican food that the police had sent in at the request of a robber.
Actually I was barely eating, my entire stomach felt like one huge knot and the mere thought of trying to get food down made me want to hurl and it only took a quick glance at Vera to prove she felt the same. Most of the time she could single-handedly eat a family sized pizza but when her anxiety got hold of her, anything that went in would come right back up seconds later.

I knew from experience that if she could just get to her pills she'd be fine, it'd calm her down and she'd be as rational and relaxed as she is normally but her things were in her locker at the back of the building and it's unlikely we'd be allowed to fetch the orange bottle. When I say 'we' I mean it, as long as I was near her she'd be gripping my arm and holding on as if letting go would equal her instant demise.
We were temporary Siamese twins.

At the moment there's just one good thing about this situations and that's the fact I haven't been asked to do anything else and I've been able to sit in the corner with my incredibly anxious friend who seems to have been able to repress her panic slightly. I know nothing truly good can come from this but I have to make the best of what I can even if it's the tiniest piece of hope or comfort.

As worry as I was for myself, like logic demanded, I was even more scared for Vee. We'd been in here for about an hour or two and the anxiety Vera had like a monkey on her back every second was weighing heavily on her mood and affecting her level of alertness. She'd drift in and out of her own head, paying attention to the quiet conversation we were having then slowly drifting off and staring at a wall.

I wanted to get her out of here, badly. I'd be able to think straight if I only had myself to worry about but my friend constantly needing help made it difficult and I struggled to make any self preserving decisions. It would have been so much easier if I was in here alone but then again I wouldn't be here at all if Vera didn't have a job greeting people. She'd be off doing something else and I'd be safe learning about the treatment of measles or some shit.

There's a small selfish voice in the back of my head that keeps reminding me that if I ignored her call and just went to college like I should have then everything would be fine but that'd mean Vee would be stuck in here by herself and she would have probably been shot already.

We've been friends for so long...the thought of getting a call from her parents...and hearing that Vera had been shot...it's terrifying and not something I ever want to hear as long as I live. It'd be like getting told my sister had died. That's why I feel so protective of her, she's like a little sister and I don't want her to get hurt when there's something I can do to keep her safe. Sure she's a bit loopy sometimes and has a habit of getting me into more trouble than I want to be in but at the same time she's like a kid.
The only thing that's changed about her since kindergarten is her appearance, her personality is basically the same.

It's a shame she needs her pills, I know if she were to stay as her usual goofy self I'd be much better and it'd be a lot easier for me to remain relaxed but her nerves are getting to me and making me worried. I have to get my hands on her medication and give it to her, for both our sakes.

If she snaps like I've seen her snap before, we could both get shot because what I've collected by watching Pax is that he may have a laid-back attitude but he's all business and wouldn't hesitate to aim one of the many guns he managed to get into the bank at one of the hostages.

I have yet to figure out how Gee works, whether his the calm one out of the two or the secret psycho, maybe he's the one who doesn't want to be here. I've seen how he'll look at the ground or get shuffle uncomfortable when Pax makes one of his disturbing jokes about killing everyone in the room. I don't think he's too happy with what's happening but if he didn't like what was going on then why did he get involved?

If he hates how Pax acts, then why doesn't he go and take his friend with him?

I'm not usually violent but I would more than gladly beat the smug white haired jerk into the ground where he belongs, he's ruined my day, my friends day and in general a lot of peoples day, and he's probably a bunch of lives while he's at it. The worst part is the regular comments he makes, the ones that continue to send Vee into a fit of panic that I barely manage to bring her out of even when I'm trying my hardest.
It was obvious he genuinely enjoyed scaring people, the only reason Jolene got to leave was because he was annoyed by her, I'm almost surprised she didn't get killed instead because when you think about it, he doesn't exactly have morals.

Of course, out of the millions and millions of crooks on the planet this bank has to get the one who's most likely to pull out a tommy gun and murder everyone including himself, this is what happens to me, this is my luck. I'm going to be so screwed, I'll be the one person in here who gets killed and that'll be that.
Not realising I relapsed into an old habit I returned to the real world to find myself picking at my nails, ruining the manicure Vee had forced me to get just a few days ago. The formerly glossy purple and black was now chipped and looked like some bad creation I'd done myself, that was a huge waste of thirty bucks.

Vera was doing the same thing as me except half her thumb was jammed into her mouth, her habit was biting, not picking and it was a lot more destructive when it came to her hands than my annoying trait that was supposed to be gone. I'd spent a good week and a half doing things to distract myself from picking and it'd stopped for a month, the stress from the robbery must have brought it back, wonderful.
"W-when do you think we'll be able to go?" Vee asked, leaning close enough for me to hear her voice that would barely count as a whisper.

"I don't know, I really don't," I shrugged, not knowing what other answer I could give her that wouldn't trigger a panic attack, nearly all the responses currently passing through my head would involve the word 'never'.

With a small sigh she moved away slightly and leant against the wall, tilting her head back and stretching her legs out. There was pretty much nothing for anyone to do in here other than lie back, quietly chat to others or sleep if you could somehow manage to do that.

No one knew just what was going on yet, whether we'd be allowed out sometime soon or if there'd be a sudden massacre. Pax and Gee had yet to attempt to break into the vault or to steal anything at all. They'd done nothing except for look around and talk to each other almost silently while every now and then a brief glance would be thrown at the people sitting against the wall.

I think that's what made things worse, they weren't acting like anyone expected. Instead of immediately trying to break into the vault they were just hanging around as if they had all the time in the world.
It'd been a while since Vic last called, either that or Pax had unplugged the phone line.

I wonder how long it'll be until they'll send out another person, I really want Vera to get out of here and speaking of being sent out, I'm still confused by what Gee tried earlier.

'Don't you understand, I'm giving you a chance to get out, take it for fucks sake.' I don't get why he'd try to kick me out, there were plenty of other people and as far as they knew I worked here so they'd be handing over someone useful...and I'm still confused as to why my heart sped up when Gee grabbed my wrist.

It was completely fine when I got the shock by bumping into him while trying to leave the bank but it's something else entirely when I know he's a robber who is holding people hostage. Why can't I be a normal person who's attracted to normal guys, ones that like sport shows and hanging out with their friends?
Oh yeah, because I'm a freak.

"Hey, are you alright?" I jumped slightly when a guy suddenly and unwelcomely sat beside me. It was obvious from his uniform that he was the security guard here, and it even more obvious that he's useless at his job.

It hadn't been that long ago when Pax noticed the baton on the guards hip (a slightly weaker weapon since this bank apparently didn't condone guns here) and took it before the metal stick could be put to any good use.

"I'm fine," I mumbled, not wanting to talk to anyone but Vee currently and it's not like I'd talk to him under normal conditions anyway.

"I haven't seen you here before, did you just start?" Geez, even he believed I worked here, I must be a better liar than I thought. On a good note this is a guarantee Pax and Gee will believe the lie I told them.
"Mmm," I decided to just keep up the lie, better safe than sorry.

"Thought so. Someone as pretty as you would be hard to ignore," Seriously? He's fucking hitting on me? In the middle of a goddamn bank robbery? This has got to be a fucking joke, he can't be serious.

"Roy, leave her alone," Vera muttered from under her arm before turning turning her head enough to glare at him, even in her anxiety managing to act as the protective friend she could be when I got cornered by someone I didn't want to be near.

The guard got the message, stood up and moved back to wherever he was sitting allowing me to sigh and enjoy being left in peace. I felt awkward as hell from having to talk and it was a load off being with just Vee, I don't think I'll ever have other friends. If it means starting up a conversation with someone I've never met before the chances are I wouldn't do it even if I was paid a billion dollars.

"Thanks," I said, making myself more comfortable in the corner I was camped out in, being my usual self I was happiest being far, far away from everyone else.

"No problem," she covered her face with her arm again, her way of attempting to shut out the anxiety.
Not even having my iPod to distract me (since I left it in my car because I didn't expect a heist) I went to an old activity of mine known as people watching which wasn't that exciting since everyone was sitting still doing nothing. Well, all but a few.

Pax was pacing back and forth between the security gate and the line of teller booths, talking rather loudly to himself about what he'd do to the police if they were to break in here. It sounded incredibly violent and I hoped Vera would remain tuned out since hearing what he'd be willing to do to the people out there would probably make her hyperventilate.

Then there was Gee.
He was sitting on a bench, by himself with his gun set aside and instead of violent rants or disturbing mutterings he had his legs crossed with an open book in his lap. Out of all the weird and crazy things you'd expect from a criminal, quietly reading a well cared for copy of Fahrenheit 451 is not one of them.

I have the same book in my car, except my copy was much more battered thanks to my cousin who borrowed it a couple of years ago. I'm reading the book for the eighth time, know it from cover to cover and could easily quote a minimum of twenty lines off the top of my head, not that I'm obsessed with it or anything.

Since I have no desire to talk to people it's easy for me to spend an entire afternoon planted in my seat at the campus library, studying textbooks and drinking cola and when I've had enough I'll wander the fiction aisles and try to find something I have yet to read. So far I've just stuck to the classics since I didn't get a chance to read them in high school thanks to all the parties Vera would drag me to. I never enjoyed any of them and I think they only reinforced my dislike of everyone much to Vee's displeasure, it was like she believed if I was taken to enough parties I'd break out of my shyness, it's almost funny.

Unlike most of the other college students I didn't attend the ravers regularly thrown, mainly because I didn't want to go but the fact I wasn't part of a sorority didn't help. At the end of the day it kinda made me gladder I had my own flat, not having to share with a noisy roommate made studying easier, shopping, there was more quiet, everything was easier. I liked the solitude and as much as I liked Vera I think living with her would drive me crazy.

From the time of elementary school she was messy, her clothes would be strewn about her room and it would be impossible to find anything if I forgot something after a sleep over. I think she still has a shirt I left ages and ages ago. I wouldn't be surprised if one of her pets was hidden in her overly messy room. She still lived with her parents and even after graduation her level of cleanliness didn't increase, another sign she's remained a kid.

Anyway, I've digressed. It was strange to see Gee with a book, it made him look like he shouldn't be here and it did an amazing job of counteracting the bulletproof vest he still had on. He reminded me of any random boy I could see in my daily visit to the library basically completely unapproachable. He doesn't look like a doctor though, maybe an artist. From the brief glances I've taken of him up close I can tell he has soulful eyes, they're just so sad and full of emotion, I reckon he'd have a lot to say if I were to talk to him.

Dammit, what the hell am I thinking? He's a criminal and once this is over, once we leave the police will arrest him like he deserves, Gee and Pax will be taken to the slammer and everyones lives can return to normal. I hope things will be that easy but each word Pax says makes it even more obvious he won't be going down without a fight and Gee, I kinda want him to just hand himself over. He's been nice enough and is very different from his white haired friend, I don't want him to be hurt unlike Pax.

Ring, ring.

Everyones head turned in response to the loud ringing of a phone including Gee's except he looked mildly annoyed since someone interrupted his reading. Pax on the other hand appeared gleeful that he now had an excuse to scare some more people, just freaking wonderful, should've seen this coming.

"Whose phone is that?" He asked, walking over to the row of people with his gun dangling from his fingers and an intimidating smirk on his lips.

"M-m-mine," a girl stuttered, slowly lifting a shaking hand. Judging by her uniform she was one of the tellers but I couldn't be a hundred percent positive since I couldn't tell if she was wearing a name tag or not from this distance.

"Oh that's nice. Give me your cell, now," Pax held out his hand, waiting for her to give him what he asked for.

She went quiet and started fumbling around, trying to find the still ringing mobile before he flipped and did something crazy. The sound stopped just as she found her pink cased iPhone and handed it to him, not trying to protest or keep it.

"Thank you," he leant in and peered at her name tag, "Kim," he turned around and walked to the centre of the room, not too far from where Gee was sitting with his book.

"I remember one of the golden rules of bank robberies being to not let the robbers know you have a cell, apparently you forgot that," Pax dropped Kim's phone on the marble floor as he spoke, "so you and everyone else shall reap the full punishment of her mistake," he pointed at the girl whose phone had rang before cocking the gun in his other hand.

He didn't even look as he pointed the gun at her mobile and pulled the trigger. There was the muted sound of a gunshot and the cell skidded a couple of feet away with a horrified gasp coming from Kim. His reaction was kinda reasonable when you think about it, not once has he given anyone the impression he was a good guy so it should come as no shock that he'd shoot someones phone without hesitation. I can only be glad I left my phone in the car.

"Alright, everyone get your mobile and put it on the ground in front of you because if I hear ringing again, I will shot a person instead of a jumble of technology. Got it?" With no one willing to test how dedicated he was to his sentence there was the sound of shuffling as everyone retrieved their cellphones.

With a resigned sigh Gee hopped off the bench and collected the mobiles as they were presented and fiddled with all of them, turning the volume down to silence any other calls that might come in before putting them on the floor next to one of their duffle bags.

Since I didn't have a phone to give I sat in my corner, trying to not attract any unnecessary attention to myself since Pax had already noticed me when I'd very much prefer to be ignored by him.

Making sure to be thorough with his job, Pax walked by and check that everyone had handed over their cell and did an excellent job of giving each of the girls a rather creepy smile that'd even be disturbing on a normal person. When I first saw him I thought he was cute, now I would gladly run away from him because he is the weirdest, most disturbing person I've ever met in my entire life and this is coming from someone who has two different coloured eyes.

"Where's your phone, honey?" Pax asked, coming to a stop in front of me and putting a hand on his hip and smiling so sweetly I could feel my teeth rotting in my head.

"My, my car?" It sounded more like a question than anything else and simply talking to him made my cheeks flare a violent shade of red, bright enough for everyone in the entire room to see it clearly.

"Uh-huh, nice try," without warning he grabbed my arm and roughly tugged me up from the ground, earning a loud yelp from my lips, half from surprise and half from genuine pain since he's much stronger than he looks.

"Why, what?" He'd pushed me against the wall and appeared to be frisking me for some retarded reason, even if I did have my mobile he's going to stupid lengths to find it and getting a lot more personal than I'd like.

"Seeing if you have your phone," he muttered, running his hands up and down my legs which is probably the closest any guy's been to me since my first boyfriend and I didn't enjoy it at all, especially from a nutter.

I didn't say anything else and made up my mind that it'd be safest to keep my mouth shut, I didn't want him to shoot me or do anything else crazy so I'll let him realise I don't have a cell then I'l go on my merry way back to my corner.

"Turn around," I moved so I was facing the wall with my arms unenthusiastically by my sides.

Other than some slight muttering to himself Pax kept quiet as he continued to run his hands over my arms and legs his gun put to the side but far enough away that I wouldn't be able to grab it if I suddenly got struck with a bolt of heroism. I kept the thoughts of wanting to hit him to myself and chewed on my lip, internally fuming and wishing I had the lady-balls to just yell at the fucking bastard.

The moment when I felt the facade of indifference I'd put up start to crack was when his hands stopped moving and remained on one spot much too long, my butt.
Anger, calm, no hitting or yelling, madness will get me killed.

"What do you think you're doing?" I said crossly through gritted teeth, the anger issues in me sparking up enough to overcome the socially crippling shyness.

"Well there's a damn good chance we could both die...what do ya say we have a quick fuck in the offices?" Not only did my face go red for the second time my hands also clenched into fists, my anger had reached a breaking point where it didn't matter if my life was at risk or not, I want to punch him.

I spun around seeing the huge, smug and lewd smirk on his face and got ready to hit. I can't believe he thinks he can get away with talking to me, to anyone like that.

"Excuse me, what kinda girl do you think I am!?" My voice had been raised, almost loud enough for the police outside to hear me and I didn't care that I was practically yelling at him, he got what he fucking asked for.

Gee who appeared to be getting ready to go back to his book stopped when he heard me shout and cautiously turned around, not seeming to expect a hostage to get into a yelling match with Whitey.

"One that doesn't have a problem wearing jeans and a shirt tight enough to show off everything," was Pax's smooth and calm response, he didn't seem to be fazed at all by my flared emotions and kept the same cool composure as usual.

"Hey, fuck you! I can wear what I fucking want! It certainly doesn't mean I want to fuck you and even if I did, I could do a lot fucking better!" Out of the corner of my eye I could see Vera quivering, she was smart and knew there was a pretty good chance I was about to get all of us killed with my big mouth.

That seemed to get to Pax and his brown eyes quickly narrowed and darkened, didn't seem to impressed by that sentence.

"I'm the best you could do, that's for sure," his voice had dropped and was on the verge of sounding mad, I think I poked the metaphorical bear with the stick one time too many and pissed him off. He took a step closer and I backed up, feeling the wall close behind me and the shyness beginning to take over once more, the confidence brought along with the anger retreating and leaving me with the shit I was now in.

Noticing what was about to go down Gee came jogging over and put a hand on Pax's shoulder visibly calming him down, or at least distracting him.

"Pax, man, we don't need the trouble. We need to get to the thing, remember?" Gee's voice was soothing and Pax returned to normal before stepping back and returning my personal space.

"Go sit down!" White Hair barked at me and I scurried away, feeling eager to escape from the predicament my temper had landed me in.

Vera hugged me the second I was within reach and didn't seem like she'd be letting me go anytime soon, it also could have been her making sure I couldn't go running my mouth off once more. The doors have opened and they'll never remain entirely closed.

It would have been easier if he shot me.

Pax composed himself and picked up his gun before returning to the bench with the copy of Fahrenheit 451 open and face down on it.

"Stop talking because you'll get yourself killed, just go along with what he says," Gee whispered barely loud enough for Vera and I to hear before turning and walking over to Pax who was shining his gun with the hem of his shirt.

"Why is he trying to help you?" Vera asked once Gee was out of hearing range and taken up by his book.

"I don't know, wish I did."

Notes