~: Camping Trip :~

She brushed some hair behind her ear, thinking. "Why wouldn't you hit me though? Papa says it's the only way to get through to a girl, because their heads are in the clouds. Mama was never around, because she was stupid, he said." She stopped, covering her hand with her mouth. She wasn't supposed to tell. Papa said that too.

 

It didn't take much after that for Rhone to put two and two together about her home life. "I-I'm sorry," he said, not explaining he was apologizing for her father. He grabbed her hand with his free one and pulled it away from her mouth. "Your papa lied. I bet your mom wasn't stupid, and that's not how you get through to a girl, it's how you push her away," he said with a low voice.

 

She looked away. "Mama brought me here. She said she had to. She knows if Papa ever finds her..." she shivered, slightly aware of her hand in Rhone's. "Papa....Papa said Mama didn't want me, that she was going to..." she stopped, her chest suddenly hurt. "He found me a.....um...kind of like a husband, but you arent married." She didn'tknow what you called those. "He didn't hit me as much, but Papa...Papa said it was because he was weak." She looked up at him. "You dont' seem weak."

 

Rhone was starting to dislike the unknown Papa. "You don't belong to that man, you're free to choose whoever you want to marry in the future or whoever you want to be with now, if that's what you want. Your father has no right...no right at all." He squeezed her hand a little as he talked, half affectionately and half angry at her father, "Whatever he said about your mom, he lied, I'm sure of it." He wasn't completely sure, he didn't know her mom, but he wanted to believe she left Aly here to protect her. "Oh, and thanks for not thinking I'm weak," he finished, turning his serious expression into another smile.

 

She smiled a little, peeking at him from under her eyelashes. "I hope you never meet him." she murmured, still holding his hand. It felt nice, not scary like when the other one had grabbed it for show. He had broken her wrist that time. "Mom...it's a long story." she kept her voice down, used to it after so many years. "It's true." she looked up at him. "I can tell." A smile flitted across her face, making her eyes glitter for a second.

 

"I hope I never meet him either," Rhone whispered, his face edging towards her as his eyes slowly closed, "and thanks," he then realized what he was about to do and jerked back, almost taking his arm off her. "Um, oh look! We're almost at camp!" He exclaimed as the cabins came into view, his face hotter than ever and his eyes avoiding Aly's.

 

Aria stopped walking, suddenly taking Alaric's hands in her's and staring him straight in the eyes. Her face flushed, the odd warmth and comfort in his gaze holding her there, still and silent. She closed her eyes slowly, inhaling deeply and mentally attempting to slow her heart down, wondering if he could hear the rapid pounding.

"Alaric," She started, her voice hesitant and her eyes squeezed shut tighter. "About your brother...A-are you okay?" She asked. She knew the topic was probably hard for him to bear and she sighed. It was a terrible time to be feeling so irrevocably in-love, but she couldn't help it. It was the rare tender moments between him and her that she had held dear in her heart even with all that time between their reuniting.

She knew she wanted to be there for him, in any way possible. She knew that she wanted to make him happy, to make him feel safe and secure and loved. But she didn't know how. She wasn't good at this. Her eyes traveled back up to meet his and she offered a small smile, waiting for his response.

"I'm here...I want to help you." She mumbled shyly.

 

Aly trembled slightly, then nodded. "Are you unpacked already?" she asked, keeping her gaze on the ground. Though he had just tried to kiss her, and she wasn't entirely sure she would have minded, it was the old memories coming back to claim her that bothered her.

 

Rhone wasn't sure if he was about to cross some kind of line with her. He just met her after all. He wondered how she would have reacted if he followed through, while cursing himself silently again for not having much experience with girls and shook his head, "No, I left my bag on the bed. I was going to unpack but we decided to do some exploring around the camp for the lake, and well, you know the rest."

 

She smiled a little, keeping her eyes cast downward. "What does one bring to summer camp?" she wondered, her eyes taking on the normal, deer like scared look she wore around other people. She hadn't tried to make friends with anyone else, so if the counslers saw her talking to another guy...they maybe might try to sell her out to her dad. It wouldn't be the first time this had happened...

 

"Hm," Rhone visioned himself packing a few days ago, "I brought mostly clothes, a few extra pairs of shoes, swimming trunks, a notebook and book if I get bored." He looked at the sky trying to remember what else, "A couple of pillows, and two sheets." He always liked being cozy as he slept, and one pillow was never enough for him.

 

She smiled this time. "Pillows? You have pillows? And clothes? Your parents actually let you bring those things?" She shook her head, her eyes sparkling. "I can't believe you can pack all those things."

 

Rhone gave a half-hearted smile as she talked, "My mom did, well, she pretty much packed it for me. We don't live with my dad," He couldn't help but wonder what his dad was doing at that moment. His parents had divorced when he was a little kid and he hadn't seen his dad in years, but they still talked every couple of weeks. "My mom almost packed my whole closet, just to be sure I had enough clothes," he said with a laugh. "If you need a pillow or sheet, even clothes, you can use mine." He knew his clothes may be a little big, and the bunk beds already had pillows and sheets, but he still felt like offering, just to be helpful.

 

Aria squeezed Alaric's hands tightly in her's, her eyes never leaving his face as she bit her bottom lip. She didn't know what to say besides something stupid like she was sorry. Who wouldn't be sorry? She looked down, tears filling her eyes before she blinked them away and stood there quietly, trying to find the words to say. She could feel Alaric's body shaking and her frown deepened before she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It's not your fault." She finally said. "You were trying to save people...It's not your fault. You didn't think there was another way..."

She looked up at him again. "I think it was a bit brave of you...It must've been a hard decision to make. And...It obviously hurt you..." She breathed, watching him shake. "I'm so sorry..."

 

She hesitated, then hugged him. It was something she had seen friends do on TV when they were happy with one another. "Thank you." she murmured, her heart racing. He had said he wouldn't hurt her, he had promised...but all promises can be broken. She still was willing to try. If this went wrong then she had no place to be. "Dads are overrated." she said quietly. The twinge in her back reminded her of that.

 

Rhone jumped the moment her arms went around him. He wasn't expecting it, she had seemed so fearful of physical contact. He hesitated as well and then closed his arms around her. "You're welcome..." he muttered. He wasn't sure what else to say, so he just stayed quiet and took in the moment.

 

She closed her eyes, tightening her grip when he didn't shove her away. The memories rose to greet her, memories of pain, and nights spent crying, only to wake up to a slap or being thrown across the room. She whimpered slightly, feeling tears of fear and sadness under her eyelids. Life hadn't seemed to be as bad as she had thought it was.

 

Rhone thought he felt her quiver and held her a little tighter, rubbing her back with one hand. "It's okay," he whispered, "I'm here for you. That's another promise, alright?" He could tell camp was going to be more interesting than he thought, and he definitaly wasn't going to complain.