REBEL FOR KICKS
iv. A HEART TO HEART
❝EVERYONE IS OUT TO GET HER.❞

THE SHEER AMOUNT OF PRISONERS THAT WERE OUT TO GET GAMORA WAS TERRIFYING TO ISABELLE QUILL. She followed closely behind Gamora who continued to wear a stoic expression as she effortlessly avoided the objects that were thrown at her. It didn't surprise Isabelle that almost everyone in the prison hated Gamora — considering she was known as one of Ronan's allies and she had earned herself the title of being the deadliest woman in the universe. One of the prisoners had managed to get close enough to Gamora to spit in her face. However, the green-skinned woman did not react as she reached up and wiped the spit from her face. Isabelle wrinkled her nose in disgust as she flipped off the man before she continued to follow closely behind Gamora.

"You're a murder, Gamora! We're coming for you first, you stupid cunt!" a woman in the crowd shouted, but her words did not affect Gamora. Isabelle, however, looked in the woman's direction and shot her a glare. Isabelle did not know why their insults toward Gamora affected her, but she could feel her blood boil.

Finally, the two reached Peter, Rocket, and Groot. The three were waiting for them to catch up and Peter immediately moved to Isabelle's side while Rocket whistled as he watched the chaos around them. "It's like I said," Rocket started, glancing toward Peter as they continued a conversation they were previously having. "Gamora's got a rep. A lot of prisoners here have lost their families to Ronan and his goons. She'll last a day, tops."

Isabelle glanced toward Gamora, studying her tense posture. Gamora tried to give off a nonchalant vibe, but Isabelle could see her chewing the inside of her cheek and the flashes of worry that were present in her dark eyes. Isabelle cleared her throat as she looked down at Rocket. "Stop trying to scare her, Rocket. The guards have to protect her — it's their damn job!"

Rocket chuckled. "Are you seriously that naive, dumbass? You ever even been in a prison before?"

"Yeah, I was held captive on Ronan's ship for a few months," Isabelle snapped, already growing irritated by Rocket's condescending tone.

Peter's eyes widened. "Wait, hold up, Izzy, you were held captive by Ronan—"

"Yeah, I tried to kill Gamora, but I failed and was captured, but, Pete, seriously — I don't think it really matters right now," Isabelle interrupted Peter as she shoved him out of the way and kept up with Gamora and Rocket. Peter rolled his eyes as he stayed behind with Groot. "Also, I am not naive, you asshole."

Rocket laughed as he looked toward the angry blonde. "Look, Blondie, the guards are only here to keep us from getting out. They really don't give two shits about what we do to each other in here. So, I would say your goodbyes to your little girlfriend—"

"Whatever nightmares the future holds," Gamora interrupted, causing them all to stop in their tracks and face her. People still shouted obscenities at her and threw whatever they could in her direction, but Gamora kept a brave face, "are dreams compared to what's behind me."

There was silence among them as they continued to make their way through the sea of prisoners, trying to get to their cells where they would be able to have some peace and quiet. The guards had paired Isabelle up with Gamora while Peter had gotten paired up with Rocket and a whole other lot of male prisoners. She felt slightly bad for him considering he would be cramped in a tight space with a dozen others, but she felt grateful that she would only be stuck with Gamora. Sure, Gamora and she weren't friends and the two were just one step above hating each other's guts, but Gamora was familiar to Isabelle. She would feel a lot safer with Gamora than she would with some random prisoner.

"Hey, Izzy," Peter started, grabbing Isabella's arm to catch her attention. She paused her movements, looking up at Peter. He had always been a lot taller than her — almost eight inches — and it pissed Isabelle off. He let go of her arm as he sighed softly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Isabelle muttered as she rolled her eyes. Peter had never cared about her before and the harsh memories of the past were hard to forget. She moved her eyes away from him and glanced back at Rocket and Groot who were in a hushed conversation — mostly just Rocket since Groot did not speak much.

"Iz, we need to talk," Peter whispered softly as he glanced around at the prisoners around them. "I know it's been so long and I was an asshole back then, but I'm not—"

"Check out the new meat," a prisoner interrupted him as a muscular alien moved in front of Isabelle and Peter, towering over them. Isabelle and Peter stared up at him, almost shocked that a prisoner would even bother to mess with them. "I'm gonna slather you two up in Gunavian jelly, and go to town—"

Suddenly, Groot came up behind the twins and extended his fingers before he dug them into the prisoner's nose, lifting him up as he cried out. Rocket laughed as he walked toward Groot who still had the man suspended in the air. "Hey, listen up! Let me make one thing clear," Rocket shouted over the sound of the man's cries. "These two blondes here are our booty! You wanna get to them? You go through us! Or, more accurately, we go through you."

Rocket grinned as the prisoners cowered in fear, taking a few steps away from Peter and Isabelle. Groot finally let the man fall to the ground before they all began to walk off. Peter chuckled as he patted Groot's back and Isabelle couldn't help but smile as well. Gamora was waiting for them — well, waiting for Isabelle — at the entrance to the cell area.

"No cell's going to protect you for long, Gamora. We'll kill you and your little friends for what you did to us!" a prisoner shouted behind them as the five exited the main area and toward the cells. Gamora took in a deep breath as she kept walking, and Isabelle couldn't help but feel terrified for her.

As the group neared their cells, Isabelle glanced back toward Peter, Rocket, and Groot. "I guess we'll see you, guys, later."

"Hey, um, Iz," Peter mumbled before Isabelle got the chance to turn around and walk away. "Just be careful, okay? There's a lot of dangerous people here and well, you're paired up Gamora and everyone already wants to kill her—"

Isabelle scoffed, "I didn't realize you cared—"

"Are you done being a total bitch?" Peter spat out as he narrowed his eyes at his sister. Isabelle glared at him as she scoffed softly. She wasn't surprised that Peter had resorted back to being an asshole again. He groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. "Iz, I'm sorry."

"Whatever," She muttered as she walked away from him. She wasn't that angry at Peter. It had happened many times when they were younger as well. They never got along — always fighting, always yelling at each other, and it had become a normal thing between both of them. She caught up with Gamora and tried her best to ignore the prisoners that lingered in the hall. She glanced up at Gamora's stoic expression. "Hey, you doing okay?"

Gamora faltered slightly as she stole a glance at Isabelle, shocked that the blonde had even asked her that question. She averted her gaze away from Isabelle and kept it on the floor. She cleared her throat as her expression turned angry again. "Of course I am," She snapped. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know," Isabelle started as she forced a smile at one of the female prisoners that glared at the two. "Gam, literally everyone here wants to kill you or have you forgotten that?"

Gamora froze when she heard Isabelle call her Gam. She glared at the blonde. "Do not call me that again."

Isabelle shrugged as the two reached their cell. Gamora lifted her wrist and let the door scan her wristband, causing it to open and allow the two women to move inside. Isabelle didn't have many words to describe the cell. The cell was small and suffocating, causing a small sigh to escape Isabelle's lips. She glanced toward the tiny bunk bed — already Isabelle had claimed the top bunk — and the small desk in the corner. Other than that, the cell was empty and dull. Isabelle was thankful that the bathrooms were not located in the cells, considering she did not feel that comfortable with Gamora yet.

"Home sweet home, I guess," Isabelle muttered as she walked toward the bunk bed. She climbed to the top and took a seat on the uncomfortable mattress that had a few springs near the end sticking out. Isabelle cleared her throat, catching Gamora's attention. "So, Gamora, what's your plan now? Ronan knows you went against him and now, well, you're stuck in a prison full of people who hate you because they think you're still on his side."

Gamora's dark eyes flicked up to Isabelle as the woman gave her a stern look. "It is none of your concern."

"Hey, just a few hours ago, you and I were buddies, remember? I saw you murder a couple of Ronan's goons like it was a walk in the park!" Isabelle reminded. "Plus, we're cellmates now. Just watch — someone is gonna come in here and try to kill you. Then, they're going to kill me because they don't want any witnesses. We're in this together, Gam."

Gamora rolled her eyes at the stupid nickname as she took a seat on the bottom bunk. She was fully aware that someone would most likely come in to kill her. "Look, Isabelle, if something like that does happen, I want you to pretend like you're not there. If I die then maybe I deserve it, but there's no need for you to die as well."

"You care about me, Gamora?"

"No," Gamora replied, not skipping a beat. "I just — Look, I don't need any more innocent blood on my conscience."

Isabelle frowned. "So, how'd you even end up with the likes of Ronan?"

A million different thoughts ran through Gamora's mind as she thought of how she should answer Isabelle's question — if at all. She sighed softly, deciding that someone should know her story before she died. "My adopted father, Thanos," Gamora started and Isabelle noticed the hatred that lingered in Gamora's tone, "lent my sisters, Nebula and Cahira, and I to Ronan, hoping that we would be able to help him."

Isabelle hummed. "I met Nebula — interesting gal, I like her. But, who's Cahira?"

"She's one of my sisters," Gamora whispered softly as she closed her eyes. "Um, she wasn't around when you were there. She decided to go on a personal trip some time ago with her girlfriend, Tatiana — haven't heard from her since."

"Are you worried?"

"Yeah," Gamora confessed. "We don't always get along, but she's still my sister, and I care about her. I just hope that she was able to get out — live a happy life with her girlfriend."

Gamora's story reminded Isabelle of Peter and her. They didn't get along, but she still did care for her brother. She didn't want anything bad happening to her. Isabelle cleared her throat. "What's your father like?"

This time, Gamora didn't answer.

"I never knew my dad," Isabelle confessed, continuing to speak when Gamora didn't. Isabelle didn't like the silence, so she opted to keep speaking. "My mother, however, loved him very much. I'm sure he was a cool guy."

"Perhaps, you should count yourself lucky that your father is not in your life," Gamora's uninterested tone sounded, but she still kept listening.

"I don't know," Isabelle breathed out, sniffling a yawn as she spoke. She could feel herself growing more and more exhausted, but she tried to keep her eyes open. "I feel like if my father was still in my life, everything would have been fairer."

"How so?"

"Well, like, uh, growing up," Isabelle tried to figure out how she should phrase her words. She never really talked about her life since no one really bothered to ask her. She adjusted her position, listening to the bed springs below her. "My mother always favored my brother more. It was so fucking obvious, and I don't know, it just kind of hurt, you know?"

"Your mother loved your brother more than she loved you?" Gamora asked. "No wonder there was so much anger between the two of you."

Isabelle felt a small tug at her heart, causing her to let out a small sigh as she rested her head on the pillow. She softly whispered, "Yeah, and I always figured that having a father around would mean that he loved me better or something like that."

Gamora didn't answer, opting to stay silent instead. She could hear the sound of her heart beating in her ears, along with the soft breathing of Isabelle above her. She wondered if the blonde had dozed off for a second, but when she heard a soft snore, she knew that she was right. Gamora rested her head against the pillow as well, closing her eyes, hoping to get a few hours of sleep in as well.

x x x

Isabelle's pleasant dreams — filled with her favorite actresses and chocolate fondue — were interrupted by the sound of angry masculine voices. An annoyed groan escaped her lips as she covered her head with the musty pillow, trying to block out the voices. As the voices got closer and closer, Isabelle felt herself start to panic. They stopped, but Isabelle could hear the jingle of keys before their door began to rattle. She quickly moved underneath her covers, feeling her heart start to race as she squeezed her eyes shut.

She could hear their loud footsteps as they entered the small cell. Isabelle could feel her heart grow heavy as she squeezed her eyes shut. Isabelle didn't know how many prisoners there were, but she assumed that they also had a guard with them since they were able to open the door.

"—what?" Gamora's groggy voice sounded, causing Isabelle to softly gasp. They were here for Gamora. Rocket was right about her not even lasting a day. Isabelle could feel her heart race as she froze in her spot. There was a sound of a struggle and Isabelle clutched the bedsheets, listening as Gamora shouted. "Unhand me!"

"Take her down to the showers," a gruff voice muttered from outside of the cell and Isabelle could only assume that it was one of the guards. She peeked out from under the blanket and noticed three prisoners holding a struggling Gamora and noticed the stoic guard that stood outside. He wore a small smirk before he said, "It'll be easier to clean up down there."

Isabelle didn't know Gamora and a huge part of her was begging her to pretend to be asleep and act as if she had not witnessed a single thing. But, deep down, Isabelle knew that she couldn't let Gamora die. After fighting the nagging voice inside her mind, Isabelle rushed out of bed and ran down the hall to go be Gamora's knight in shining armor.

♡

I'm slowly getting back into the grove of writing and it's actually making me really happy! For a solid two months, I dreaded even opening up my Google Docs app and looking at all the drafts of my fics. But, I realized that there is nothing really wrong with the drafts that I wrote. This chapter has been written for over a month, but I've been too anxious to post it. All I had to do is edit it slightly and copy and paste it from Docs to Wattpad. My point is — don't doubt yourself! I stayed doubting myself and it literally got me nowhere, but I'm hopefully back now and I won't disappear for a long time again.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! It's a bit of a filler, but I had Isabelle and Gamora bond lowkey! Plus, I know that some of you might think that Gamora is being out of character, but it's honestly because of what happened in her past. I did mention another OC named Cahira! Some might recognize her while others will probably have no clue who she is. Cahira is a very important character — at least, to me — and she first appeared in Half the World Away, but she will have a lot more backstory in my Lady Sif fic and my future Nebula fic. 😊 I also really like writing Isabelle's dynamic with Peter. It's really interesting to me. 😂 They were lowkey fighting still, but they will eventually get better!

Till next time! ❤️

— AMARA
PUBLISH DATE — 08.11.2018