Campfire Waltz
At the edge of a meadow, Just north of a rural camping lodge sat a single camping tent. The mixture of a cool breeze that whiffed of pine and the trickle of a crystal stream framed by large rock formations sung a low lullaby that should've sent anyone to sleep. But John Connor wasn't just anyone and the peaceful setting outside somehow unnerved him into a sense of anxiety.
He turned over in his sleeping bag and gaze over to the other occupants of the tent. He wished he could look as at peace with the world as his mother did. Sarah Connor was snuggled tight into her bag. There was always something about wide open spaces and solitude that brought the woman a sense of comfort that her child could never understand. John watched her breath rise and fall and quirked an eyebrow at the tattooed arm wrapped around her. Much like Sarah, John's uncle seemed completely turned off. His arm protectively placed around his mother, an old habit from the look of it. For a moment John wondered if being out here, in the woods and the fields reminded Derek of camping with John's father and maybe even the fear of being alone in a large desolate world. Maybe even his mother felt the same fear, which was why Sarah was so deep in his arms.
Maybe tomorrow they won't talk about it, maybe she'll punch him for putting his hands on her. John felt like at any other point in life this might be a little weird. But when he gazed upon their faces and saw the peace and comfort of a pleasant night in the security of a kindred soul, he just couldn't let Hamlet ruin this for them.
Quietly unzipping the flap, John soundlessly exited the tent into the fresh air of the very early morning. Afar was a field of tall clean grass, that swayed in the breeze. Beyond another tree line that rustled in the distance, a tall snowcapped mountain sat serially beyond the scenery, casting its majestic shadow with the golden light of a waxing crescent moon balanced at its peak. It was all so beautiful, and yet he couldn't find the reason why he was so restless tonight.
His pensive features were outlined in the orange light of the campfire burning low. Tromping unevenly toward a log bench, he picked up a stick. The fire began to crackle and pop as he settled and began pushing it around, giving the fire a little air to breath. He took a deep breath of the earthy musk of burning wood and watched the strange patterns of the dancing flames.
He knew he should be at peace here, and still here he was the last man still awake for miles, or at least that's what it seemed in his own isolation. Amongst all the scenery and stillness of a world populated by the only people he cared about, he found himself feeling as if something was missing. Left to his thoughts, John began to wonder just what was wrong with him.
Behind him was the crunch of twigs and gravel from the creek bed, it was a steady pace, deliberate and familiar. "Late night stroll?" John asked with distractedly as the slim silhouette of a dancer passed his sitting form.
"How did you know it was me?"
John smirked lightly. "You shouldn't wear so much perfume." He answered without looking.
"I like it."
There was something calm and unrepentantly honest in John's face. "So do I." He admitted. He quit what he was doing and looked up at his cyborg protector. He should be puzzled, or at least weirded out when he saw the slender beauty cradling a cotton tail rabbit in her arms as if carrying a bundle of campfire wood.
"What's up doc?"
"I don't understand." She frowned.
"Neither do I?" John motioned his head to the rabbit.
Following his hint she widened her eyes. "Oh, I found him." She supplied watching the trembling rodent with frosted brown fur.
"Obviously." He nodded with the expectation for more of an explanation.
She tightened her check and gently knelt in the grass, with such a gentle disposition, one could almost forget what she was. "He was caught in a trap." She explained setting the rabbit on the ground.
"There's going to be a pissed off Redneck in the morning, when they see an empathetic killing machine let breakfast escape." John snickered to himself watching his protector with a sense of endearment that went straight to the heart.
The cyborg didn't look up. "We're not built to be cruel." She replied as if that was the answer he was looking for. She gently pushed the rabbit from behind toward the field and watched it hop away. When she turned back, she found John watching her with glassy eyes of sorrow and longing.
"John?" She called to him with a tilt of her head. "are you alright?" She asked.
A heart breakingly sad smirk form on his face as he poked the fire, looking away. "Just wondering if you have any more animal friends out there, Disney Princess." He covered a hidden emotion with a chuckle.
There was a long quiet pause as the campsite was overcome with a peaceful still of the early morning. Suddenly it was broken with an enchanting voice singing a vocal scale that was pitched perfectly so that it echoed quietly. The teenage boy shot his eyes up to Cameron standing on the other side of the campfire. Her golden eyes searched the treetops above, if waiting for something. after a long moment she found John again.
"I guess not."
John stifled a laugh at his own expense, a large grin spread across his face. In response the ghost of a smile threatened to turn the usually stoic face of the emotionless cyborg.
"I fooled you, again."
"You never fail do you?"
"Never"
They both locked eyes and let the undercover meaning of the exchange pass between them. John snorted and gave nod in understanding and focused on playing on with the fire. Though his mind was far away, the subject of those thoughts stood in front him watching with interest.
Weaving gently and smoothly through the night, just interrogating with the music of nature around them was the chords of an acoustic guitar accompanied by the sound of a sweet violin. Both John and Cameron perked up at the noise, following the sound across the field.
"Music?"
"Must be from the lodge." John shrugged.
Cameron stared a moment longer before turning back to John. "Do you want to go?" She asked curiously.
He responded with another shrug. "Nah …" He said as easy as an automated voice. "Not my kind of shindig." He joked. "Plus, mom would kill us if she found out we snuck out to a "Hoe Down" in the middle of nowhere." He supplied quickly.
Even if genuine in his disinterest with the string band quartet, there was something longing just hidden in his voice. Maybe the cyborg should've just left it alone, but she just couldn't when there was something she didn't know.
"Have you ever wanted to go to a social gathering of such categorization?" She asked.
"You mean a party?" John asked with an enduring chuckle.
Cameron paused a moment to dwell on the new word. "Yes … a party" She nodded.
John was quiet a moment. "Not really …" He said. "I've never really fit in with normal people. It's hard to relate to anyone when all you see is a room full of unwitting skull decorations on ruined streets. But sometimes …" He trailed off. Cameron didn't push even when he looked up at her. There was something in her seemingly vacant eyes that comforted him.
"Sometimes I just want a partner." He shrugged. "I don't want to be the life of the party or to even necessarily have a life altering experience … I just want to find someone and have one dance, to know what it would be like to feel … well you know?" He searched her eyes. But all she did was tilt her head. He cleared his throat and smirked politely. "No …" he went back to the fire. "I guess not." There was a deep lonesomeness in his taunt voice.
The next time he looked up there was a slim hand being offered to him. He followed it up to Cameron's face, where he was taken with the sincerity in her innocent expression. He smirked playfully. "The guy is supposed to ask the girl." He stared at her hand.
"I won't tell …" the deadpan in her voice expressed her seriousness.
He studied her hand a moment, before he took it and she helped him to his feet. Hands intertwined she lead him away from the fire to a small clearing still in reach of the firelight. She just stared at him after that, expectantly. John looked around a moment, both waiting for the other.
"You don't know how to dance, do you?" John frowned.
"No" She replied honestly. "But I'm here." She nodded with the slightest of something in her face that always cemented that there was something more to her than everyone wanted John to believe.
He smiled gently. "Yeah … you're here." He agreed with a touched expression. He was cautious as he pulled her closer to him, placing their hands and arms in the right position. He closed his eyes following the slow western waltz. "Follow me." He said as he began moving his feet.
He took several moments to set the tempo before opening his eyes. He was surprised to find the cyborg matching his him perfectly, flawless footwork, effortlessly moving. He thought that maybe she should be the one leading.
"I thought you didn't know how to dance?"
"I don't … you said to follow you, it's what I do."
He smiled and he was surprised to find that she did the same. With the steps down, he let the music take ahold and the awareness of their surroundings seep in. The gentle breeze, the rustle of the woods, and the bubbling of the glassy creek all added something to the instruments in the distance.
He couldn't look away from the innocent eyes that seemed to trap him, enchant him, and hollow him out. Suddenly he was washed over with feelings that had tried to contain for so long, the feelings that could never be, that shouldn't be. But with the night breeze and the music … his heart swelled. Back home there was a girl waiting for him, a destiny that had no room for what he was feeling.
His eyes began to water as she got closer, their bodies swayed, and spun. "Cameron …" He said her name in a choked voice. For just a moment her eyes focused on him and they watched him intently, hanging on to every word unspoken. He tried to say something, tried to find the words to heal this hurt inside him, to settle the discovery of what had been missing all along. But most of all try to rationalize why he couldn't accept and welcome the only solution that was tucked so very close in his arms.
He never said what he wanted to, what he couldn't. The girl that lived in his present, future, and dreams just gave an understanding nod. A single tear fell from his eye when he pulled her closer as she laid her head against his chest.
With the direction of timeless music two doomed lovers danced till dawn. When they returned to their lives, plots and fate would change and separate them. But in this one perfect moment under the blanket of twinkling stars they'll dance forever.