Never Surrender preview

Ryan let out a heavy sigh as he walked down the seemingly endless hallway towards his room. He rubbed the soft white towel through his hair in an attempt to dry it thoroughly, though it was hard with his thick hair. Regardless, it was the first time he'd felt clean in days. Garret had been dragging him around so much during their mission the last few days that Ryan never had a chance to get a shower. He knew Garret was just trying to help show him the ropes, seeing as how it was Ryan's first mission, so he couldn't really be mad at him. But he was being forced to change the way he lived his life in the blink of an eye, and it was hard. He didn't like change in the first place, so adjusting his entire life so suddenly felt like too much for him. And he was used to daily showers, and it was hard getting all of that dirt off of him and cleaning his hair after that mission.

…Wow, I sound like such a pampered brat right now… Ryan thought to himself as he brought his hand to his face.

Ryan finally came to his door and peeked in as he opened it. Garret was sitting in his teal beanbag chair with a wireless controller in his hands and a wireless headset over his ears, his fiery orange eyes firmly locked on the television. Yet with all of these distractions he noticed as the brunette poked his head into the room.

"Hey, Ry, how was your shower?" the dark haired boy energetically asked without even taking his eyes off of the screen.

"…I dunno…wet?" Ryan answered as he walked in the room and gently closed the door behind him.

"Not the answer I was looking for…" Garret pouted.

"Well sorry, I guess I didn't understand the question then. So what are you doing anyways?"

"Just playing a video game with Jess. You know, over Wi-Fi."

"I figured the Wi-Fi part."

"…Oh, nothing Jess, just talking to Ryan…"

Looked like Ryan wasn't going to get any more attention for a while. He let out a sigh and grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini fridge under the counter and sat down on the bottom bunk of his and Garret's beds and continued to towel dry his hair. He thought back to the mission he had just completed with Garret. It was a search and destroy sort of mission, with the target being a supposedly easy demon. If that was supposed to be easy, then Ryan didn't want to know what a hard demon would be like. Jessica and her partner were a big help, since it seemed difficult for them to complete on their own…mostly because Ryan was so inexperienced. He felt so guilty about it, too. Garret's abilities were suppressed because he was so busy defending Ryan most of the time. The boy couldn't help but feel so useless. They all could've easily completed the mission without him. But he made it harder for them. He didn't like feeling so guilty about this. He didn't like hunting demons. He didn't like how he was forced to live his life now. He didn't like anything about his life right now. Oh how he wished that he just disappeared with the rest of the town, like he was supposed to.

"…Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention this before," Garret started, getting Ryan's attention again, "but after we complete a mission the higher ups expect a report of how our job went."

"Really? So I guess no matter where I go homework will always follow me…"

"Hey, it's not that hard. Just summarize everything that happened, and make sure not to leave out any important details."

"…Alright, do you have a notebook I can use?"

"Nah, we just type them up on a computer and send them in via e-mail."

"Well, in case you didn't notice, I don't have a computer with me."

"Sure you do. It's in the cabinet next to the refrigerator. All members of The Organization get one."

"Really?" Ryan stood up and checked the designated area. Sure enough, there were two laptops sitting on the shelves. "So, um, which one is mine?"

"You're the bottom one. Oh, and can you pull mine out for me, too? Just leave it on the table for me."

Ryan let out a sigh and did the boy's request before taking his own computer with him back to the bottom bunk. After starting up the new computer and setting up the configurations with some help from Garret, the brunette got started on writing out a summary of the mission. But as he got started, all he could think about was how brave and heroic everyone else acted. And Ryan was nothing more than dead weight for them. As he typed and typed, the feeling just kept growing worse. He eventually just stopped typing and stared at the blinking cursor. He closed his eyes and whispered "Sorry". Not that Garret could even hear him with that headset on. He almost jumped a foot in the air when the raven haired boy, now standing next to him, leaned in and spoke to him.

"Sorry about what?" he asked.

"Wh-when did you…?" Ryan asked as he clutched at his rapidly beating heart.

"Jess wanted to take a break to get something to eat. I've been standing here for a few minutes now. I'm surprised you never noticed."

"Same here…"

"So what are you sorry about, Ry?"

"Oh…Well…It's just…you and the others seemed so skilled in combat and everything on the mission… But I could tell that you weren't fighting at your best…  All because I was holding you back by doing nothing… I'm not skilled in combat at all… Hell, I'm not even that physically fit. How can I know for a fact that I won't hold you guys back again?" Garret stayed silent for a long period of time, and Ryan didn't even dare to look him in the eyes. Eventually though, he felt a hand rest on top of his head and ruffle his hair.

"Is that all?" Garret asked in an almost joking sort of tone. Ryan turned to face him with an attempted glare. But confusion was all that lingered on his face. "Ry, what you have is a case of the Newbie Jitters. Everyone feels that way when they join The Organization. Even I started out feeling that way. But eventually I learned how to defend myself and those I care about. It just takes a lot of practice and patience." He leaned in a bit more and stared Ryan in the eyes. "So don't go doubting yourself yet, okay? I don't want to see you give up so soon. It was your fist mission after all. It's way too soon to call it quits." Garret ran his hand down through Ryan's hair, sending a sudden feeling of comfort and pleasure through the brunette. "…Your hair's still a little damp, y'know."

"…Thanks for letting me know…" Ryan said as he returned to the report with a frown. Garret shrugged and returned to his beanbag chair. "By the way, did you get you're report done yet? I mean, you're playing games so I'm assuming…"

"Nah, I'll get it done later," he replied casually.

"But I thought you said the higher ups wanted these reports? Doesn't that mean we should get them in as soon as possible?"

"I'm pretty well known for putting that off a lot."

"…What about Jessica? Being the founder's daughter I think she'd understand the importance of—"

"Same goes for her."

"…Seriously…? You guys are supposedly two of the best members here, yet you put off your work all of the time?"

"Pretty much."

Ryan stared at the boy in disbelief for a long time before returning to his report. He wasn't too keen on having a slacker for a partner. However, he was one of the best, and he saw the boy in combat. There was no doubt that Garret was strong. And Ryan figured that was all he needed at the time. He'd just have to learn how to put up with a guy like that.