I glanced over at Will, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Of course my personal favorite is... Um... Anyway, what keeps you up this beautiful night?" Will inquired.
I opened my mouth, but the words clogged in my throat.
"Hey, it's cool. I understand the lure of my fantastic verandah," Will traced the grain of the wood with his index finger.
I purposefully kept my eyes locked on the tree line, and sucked in an uneven breath, "I just needed... I had another bad dream."
I expected him to do what everyone else would do; gasp and ask what it was about, but he only looked into my eyes and kept silent.
"Can we go somewhere without a bunch of nosy teenagers?" I glanced nervously at the darkened windows of the Apollo cabin.
Without hesitation Will jumped to his feet and smiled down at me. Slowly, I stood and fiddled with the strings of my coat.
"I know the perfect place," Will grasped my hand firmly and shot away from the rings of cabins like an arrow from a bow.
Tripping to catch up with him, I jogged behind him as we ran towards the lake. Suddenly, Will halted and I lurched into his back. With a grunt we toppled to the ground, and Will profusely apologized, "I'm so sorry, I should have... Are you okay?" And added almost as an afterthought, "Also, we're here."
I blushed as I detangled myself from him, "Yes, I'm fine. Where are we?"
Brushing off the dirt, Will grinned down at me. He helped me to my feet and without thinking, he started patting the dust out of my jacket. I wriggled self-consciously, gazing at the silvery smooth lake.
He pretended not to notice my discomfort, and answered, "The Aphrodite's call it 'The Nest,' but I prefer 'Super Awesome Secret Base.'"
I grimaced in exasperation and gently pushed away his hand, "Really? Is this the only place you could think of?"
"Just wait and see how super awesome it is," Will grasped me around the shoulders and gestured to a slight dip in the ground by a willow tree.
I stumbled along beside Will, and sucked in a deep breath saturated with a rich earthy mist. Grinning, Will's eyes twinkled with a clever light, and he whispered to the roots of the tree.
"VoilĂ , 'Super Awesome Secret Base,'" Will pointed extravagantly to a widening crack in the trunk.
My mouth dropped as a hole formed in the trunk, revealing an interesting room.
