Delirious's eyes widened as he crashed to the ground.

What surprised him the most, was the fact that a now bleeding Vanoss was scowling in pain as he pushed Delirious behind a large green dumpster. A couple of gun shots were heard, but Delirious was in shock -- too distracted to pay attention to what was going on.
Once he remembered that Vanoss got hurt, he looked at him to see where exactly he got shot.

He had gotten shot on his shoulder, his left one. Unlike Luke's wound, his was a bit farther down but he couldn't tell, since Vanoss moved too much and didn't seem to care about the pain at the moment. Delirious looked over and saw that Luke and Carlos were hiding behind a wall, but Luke looked out once in a while since he was shooting as well. Delirious wondered where he got the weapon from, until he saw a random corpse laying a bit farther from the wall. How he got the weapon without getting shot though? Delirious couldn't tell, but he was happy that he was helping the group.
Carlos though, was shaking behind the wall. It looked like he was trying to help, since he was holding a gun in his trembling hands.

"Delirious what the hell are you doing?!" Vanoss hissed. "Help us!"

Delirious got out of his trance and he fumbled with his hand gun as he tried to get it out of his belt. Once he did, he shakily peered over the dumpster, but he couldn't see who was shooting at them. He could tell where they were though. His eyes widened and he ducked down when he heard gunshots again and he peered up just to shoot. He aimed at the figures and shot at them before ducking down again.

All of a sudden, the shooting stopped. Just like that. It was as if someone froze time for a moment. Panicked, Delirious looked over at his group to see if they were okay, and luckily, they were, except that Luke and Vanoss slowly got up and peered over their hiding spots. Delirious mimicked their actions as he looked over as well, just to see two figures running away, wounded. Vanoss held his gun up to shoot, but when he pulled the trigger, nothing came out. "Shit. . ." Vanoss cursed as he threw his gun to the side. "I'm out of ammo."

"Tough luck bud. . ." Luke said as he put his gun away.

Vanoss then bristled and sharply looked over at a confused Delirious. The asian's eyes were full of frustration and pure hatred, "What the FUCK were you thinking?!"

Delirious's eyes widened, "I. . . What. . . ?"

"You almost got us killed!" Vanoss approached Delirious and grabbed him by his sleeve -- pulling him close to him in a menacing way.

Delirious froze and Luke tensed. He didn't know what to say. ". . ."

Vanoss gripped him tighter, but Delirious didn't cry out, as he felt too scared to make a noise. The Asian grit his teeth, "Nothing, huh?"

"It wasn't his fault!" Luke stepped up.

Vanoss tensed, and finally let go of the frightened clown. "How was it not his fault?! He just stepped out like the dumbass he is and almost got us all murdered!"

Delirious rubbed the place where Vanoss had grabbed him, feeling a slight hint of deja vu. He bit his lip to stop his tears from ruining his face paint. The last thing he wanted was for a bunch of strangers -excluding Luke - to find out who he was. "I-I. . . I didn't mean it. . ."

"Sure you didn't. . ." Vanoss growled as he glanced down at his weapon. "Looks like we'll have to scavenge a bit. I like having more than one gun at hand." Vanoss looked around and at both sides of the street to check if it was in the clear. Delirious frowned at the idea of crossing the street in plain view, so he backed up a bit whilst trying to dry his eyes.

Vanoss noticed this and glared at Delirious, "We'll be fine, just run across. If you make it then good for you, but if you don't make it then that's your problem, not mine."

"Wait. . . Can I at least help you with. . . With your wound?"

Vanoss rolled his eyes, "It's just a flesh wound, I've been through worse."

Delirious frowned and took out a water bottle, "Come on, at least let me help."

"S-Si, he's right. What if it gets infected o-or something?" Carlos stuttered.

"Exactly, let me just help you." Delirious set an arm on Vanoss's good shoulder. The man tensed, but he loosened up a bit after he winced from the pain.

Vanoss grit his teeth, "Fine. . . But make it quick."

Delirious nodded and slowly but surely got Vanoss to sit down on the pebbled floor of the alley. Vanoss laid back against the brick wall, looking too embarrassed to face Delirious. Delirious didn't mind this, though. It made him feel less pressured. And with that, he got to work. Luke and Carlos sat a bit far from them, and Delirious didn't blame them. He wouldn't want to be close to Vanoss if he's hurt and angry. He is pretty terrifying in this state. "You don't feel weak, do you?" Delirious asked him quietly. He was hoping that Vanoss didn't lose too much blood.

"No." Vanoss said before tensing and flinching in pain.

"Don't move." Delirious bit his lip while he tried to keep Vanoss still.

"Y'know it's kind of hard to do so when you're too slow." Vanoss hissed.

"Ok I get it, don't rush me." Delirious frowned.

After a moment of silence, Vanoss looked at Delirious, "Hey. . . Thanks. I didn't want to bleed to death."

"I'm too scared to check how much you lost honestly. . ." Delirious bit his lip as he slowly unzipped Vanoss's red jacket. His face turned hot when realizing how weird this looked. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't touched him this way before. It was odd to him, how he felt Vanoss's body heat and heard his quiet, tense breathing. But, oddly enough, it relieved him.

Vanoss bit his lip, "Hurry up, will ya'?" Delirious guessed that he might have had the same thoughts as well. "I wanna get a move on."

Delirious moved the jacket behind his bad shoulder -- just so Vanoss wouldn't experience literal hell while trying to take it off. He bit his lip, wondering if he should take the dreaded bullet out or not. But he was afraid that he would damage something. Vanoss noticed his uneasiness and said, "Just leave it. Disinfect it first though, but leave it if you want."

Delirious nodded and continued. He frowned when Vanoss hissed in pain, "Shit, sorry."

"No no, if it hurts then that means you're doing it right." Vanoss chuckled with clenched teeth.

"I-I know b-but I feel bad. . ." Delirious stuttered whilst he treated the wound as best as he could.

"Don't feel sympathy. . . Especially for a guy like me." He murmured.

"You could have told me that a long time ago yet I would still disagree- well. . . Unless you told me right after we met, then I would've probably left you there to die." Delirious chuckled nervously, mentally punching himself for talking too much.

"I wouldn't blame you for doing that though." Vanoss bit his lip.

Delirious cleared his throat, "Well, not that we should worry about that or anything. I mean you're pretty likable when someone gets to know you."

Vanoss raised an eyebrow at him and grinned, "Why? Because I'm so irresistible?"

"Ha. Hahaha you wish." Delirious stammered, trying hard not to act so flustered. He paused and noticed that, despite what Vanoss was saying about death, he was wearing a bullet proof vest.

Vanoss followed Delirious's gaze and looked away, "Oh, if you want it you can have it."

Delirious's eyes widened, "What? There's no way. It looks heavy and uncomfortable. I'd rather die comfy, honestly." Delirious would be lying if he said that he hadn't considered it for a moment. He didn't like getting hurt or, well, dying. But it must've costed a crap ton of money. And throwing it away just like that to a random stranger would be a complete waste of money.

Maybe if I make it out alive, I can buy one for next year. . .

Vanoss chuckled, "Oh come on, you'll need it more than I do since you always seem to get into trouble."

"But at least I've got you to use as a shield." Delirious joked.

He glanced at Vanoss from the corner of his eye to see the Asian's grin grow wider. "Yeah but keep using me like that and I won't be your shield for long."

Delirious gave him a nervous smile, "Yeah. . . I guess you're right. . ." Sure, his potential death might save everyone but it saddened him a bit. He didn't understand why, though.

Luke shifted uneasily, "Are you done yet Deli? I don't like staying in the same spot for too long."

"Yeah. . . Hold on." Delirious bit his tongue as he made his finishing touches on Vanoss's wound. Once he put away his supplies, he got up and dusted himself off, "Alright. . . Finished."

Vanoss got up and looked over across the street, "Well, I guess it's time."

Delirious bit his lip once he heard Vanoss say this. This wasn't a good plan, too bad it was the only one they had. Vanoss looked around, and paused when he looked to the left. Delirious followed and looked as well, just to see that there was a fight going on with unknown people and the two survivors that had ambushed them and ran away. "That's our cue," Vanoss said as he slowly stepped on the road, "Come on."

As he said that, he scurried to the other side of the road with Luke and Carlos. Delirious, though, stayed where he was, staring at the people across the street. After they ran to the other side of the street, Vanoss paused and stared at Delirious. Delirious didn't know what it was, but the asian didn't need to speak just to manifest the amount of hatred he had for the clown at the moment. And he didn't know what was worse now: the fact that those people can approach them and Delirious can't cross the street at all, or if he does manage to cross the road just to come across the pissed off leader who looked like he wanted to murder someone at that moment.

Delirious gulped, but he decided to hide behind the dumpster. Out of fear, of course. As he sat there, he realized how fast he was breathing. It was as if he knew what was coming, when it was sort of evident that he had no idea what was coming to him. That was until he heard a few voices near him.

"Hey. . . Shouldn't we be looking for Brock and Carlos?"

The guy huffed, "No, they don't matter. They're a lost cause."

"But they had weapons and some money!"

"So? We'll find them at some point. We have to go back to the others. Plus, our first priority is to find-. . ." He paused, and Delirious bit his lip when he heard some noise near him. "Huh. . . weapons. They're not loaded though. Let's just go now."

Delirious stayed quiet as they walked away. Afterwards, there was no noise. Everything was silent, and Delirious had the short opportunity to rest a bit. That was until he heard heavier footsteps walk over to where he was. He froze and his eyes widened when they met with an angry Vanoss. He pulled him up by his jacket and pinned him against the dumpster, his hands dangerously close to his neck. "Clown. . . Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't murder you right now." Vanoss said with clenched teeth.

Delirious gripped Vanoss's hand in a weak attempt to push him away, "I. . . I didn't mean. . ."

"You almost got us caught." He hissed, "If you had just ran across the street like we did, this wouldn't be happening right now."

"B-But I-"

Vanoss shoved him to the ground, "But you what?! But you what, huh?!"

At this point, Luke stepped in and shoved Vanoss, "Cut it off asshole! Last time I let you go easy but this time you crossed the line."

"Well that's what this dumbass deserves!" He took out his gun and Luke did as well.

Delirious, infuriated, got up immediately and shoved Vanoss, not caring if he had a gun or not. "I was scared!"

Vanoss stared at him, ". . . And?"

"I was scared." Delirious choked out. "I knew those guys were there a-and I was too scared to follow you guys. I don't know why you're mad at me, I didn't even get caught for christ's sake you're acting as if I-I shot you or something!"

"If those guys would have found you, you'd be dead!" He hissed.

"And why do you care?!" Delirious spat. "You hate me so much, don't you?! Then why the hell do you care about me?!"

Vanoss glared at Delirious for a moment, running his hand through his hair in frustration before rubbing it against his face, wincing as he tried to move his wounded arm, "It's not that easy to-"

"I'm tired of you. I'm tired of you and your bullshit because honestly it's getting tiring." Delirious grabbed some ammunition from off of the ground and angrily stuffed them into his backpack. "If I really am worth so much, then could you at least do me a favor and tell me why?" After saying this, Delirious had no idea as to why he felt a little bit of hope. It was as if he expected Vanoss to say something meaningful, something that might relieve him and make him happier than he was at the moment. Not that he was happy or anything.

Vanoss looked up after a large sigh, thinking about his answer. "It's because. . . It's because you. . . You're carrying the backpack with the money."

Delirious gave him a slight look of disbelief, his lips parting as if to say something, but instead he looked away and said nothing. ". . . Of course I am." He then turned away and continued down the long alleyway.

"Shit- Delirious wait!" Vanoss said, his voice full of frustration.

Delirious looked back upon hearing Vanoss's heavy footsteps getting close to him. Vanoss stopped abruptly, not knowing what to say. Delirious stared at him for a moment before chuckling lightly and taking off his backpack. "Here. . ."

He tossed it to the ground,

"You can have it."

-_-_-_-

This is the first time I published a chapter on my laptop wow

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have writer's block whilst writing this chapter but I finally finished it!

Right before Spring Break ended too >.>

I'm sorry, I know I took too long in writing this, filler??? idk.

I had no inspiration in the beginning and when I wanted to rush it, I felt like it made no sense so in the process of adding 1000+ words I just lost inspiration :C (and now it has 2631 counting this XD)

But now the deed is done, and from here on out we'll be getting to the good stuff >;) (I hope)

So bear with me and I hope you enjoyed ^_^!