"Someone is going to go after those animals," Ash was saying. Roman straightened quickly.
"I'll go," he said. He didn't want Pips to be the hero again. "Me, Rai, and Sandy will go." Wil looked at him sharply. He wasn't useless just because he couldn't fly.
"Wil, you can stay here and make sure the other animals stay safe. That goes for you too, Pips," Ash directed. Wil looked at Ash gratefully. "You three, get going. Catch them before it's too late."
"I'm going with them," Batty said. "They'll get lost."
"We won't get lost, Batman," Roman said dryly. He didn't want the nonsensical bat with him.
"Too bad for you," Batty said. "You need me and you know it."
"Oh, Roman," Tamsyn said, coming out from the crowd. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Pips was confused. He thought Roman was with Crysta. Roman looked unfazed.
"I'm sure I'm sure," he said. Tamsyn's sister, Treena, was saying goodbye to Rai with their two little ones, Bobby, who was four, and Carrie, who was two. Sandy looked a little put out standing there alone.
"Good luck," Pips said to him, clapping his shoulder. Sandy grinned.
"Thanks!"
"Goodbye, Roman," Crysta was saying. Pips looked to see Roman hugging her. Then he kissed her, looking pointedly at Pips as he was doing so. Pips felt a rush of anger. What did he think was going to happen? Crysta pulled away quickly. She didn't like public display of affection in any way from Roman. Then they were gone.
"I have a lot of work to do," Crysta said glumly.
"Can I help?" Pips asked. She looked at him sorrowfully.
"Not unless you know how to grow plants and trees," she said. He shook his head. "I didn't think so." She left, leaving him feeling sorry for her.
"Come on, mate," Wil said. "Let's go talk to some animals."
Later...
Pips was wandering. He and Wil had warned the other animals of potential danger. There wasn't much else to do. He happened upon her working hard in the middle of the tree graveyard. He wanted to assist her somehow, so he made his presence known.
"I think you need a break," he said. She looked up at him wearily.
"There are no breaks," she said. "Look around you. There's so much to be done."
"You're no good if you're worn out," he told her. She sighed. He did have a point. She sat down on a charred log. He joined her. She had spent all afternoon trying not to think about him, and here he was making it even more difficult.
"So," she said, breaking the silence. "How have you been?"
"As good as I can be," he replied. "You?"
"Same," she smiled ruefully. He sat there chewing his lip. He didn't really know what else to say to her. He was dying to ask about Roman, but he wasn't sure if he should even open that discussion. He didn't think he'd want to hear about it anyhow. Crysta was feeling awkward suddenly. She knew things had not been left in a good way between them, but she didn't know how to fix it.
"Look," she said, deciding to go for it. "I really am sorry about..."
"Don't apologize," he interrupted. "Really, I'm fine."
"That's not what I've heard," she said. He furrowed his brow. How did she know?
"How...?"
"Your mother talks to mine sometimes," she confessed. "I eavesdropped on them."
"Well, whatever was said, I'm fine now," he told her. He made a mental note to speak with his mother when he got back home.
"I don't believe you," she said. He made an exasperated sound.
"I really don't want to talk about it," he said.
"I think we have to or else we're never going to have a normal conversation again," she pointed out.
"Okay, fine," he said, turning to face her. "I was unbelievably crushed, and I still am. I think about you every single bloody day. I kick myself that I never got the chance to meet you before this whole Roman thing happened and now I have to stand here and watch you be with someone else. I am completely, utterly, head over heels in love with you and can't bear to even think about being with anyone else because all I want is you. Happy now?" She was stunned. She sat there staring at him as though he had two heads. He immediately regretted telling her any of it.
"Just forget it, okay? It's over. I'm fine," he added.
"You just told me you loved me and now you're saying you're fine?" she asked. "This isn't fine!"
"What else am I supposed to do?" he demanded. "There's nothing I can do. This is why I didn't even want to say anything to you."
"You know what, you're right," she said. "This was stupid." She stood up. "I have to get back to work." She left him sitting there feeling angry. Why did he open his big, stupid mouth? He left too. He went back to the Ash household to regroup. Crysta could barely focus on what she was doing. She had heard what she had wanted to hear and had suspected two years ago when she stopped him from finishing his sentence. Why did it upset her so much? She cursed herself for even bringing it up. Now things were going to be very strained between them.
Nighttime...
Pips had stayed away ever since she returned home. If anyone noticed, they didn't comment. Crysta felt sick to her stomach and upset at herself for making such a mess. She stood outside his closed door three times, but each time she couldn't bring herself to enter and talk to him.
"Everything all right?" Mother asked her the last time she came down the stairs looking upset.
"I just...I made him angry, and I don't know how to fix it," she said truthfully.
"Come, sit," Mother said, patting the space next to her. Crysta sat down with a sigh. "What did you say to him?"
"I brought up something that happened, and he didn't want to talk about it. I pushed and now he's upset. I just don't know how to make it better."
"Hmm, well, give him some time. Perhaps he just needs to think on it for a while," Mother suggested.
"Maybe." Crysta didn't offer anymore information. Mother had an inkling about what the whole mess involved.
"What does your heart tell you?" she asked softly. Crysta thought hard.
"I don't know," she answered honestly.
"It'll tell you," Mother said. "You just have to listen." She patted her daughter's shoulder and stood to leave. Crysta sat there thinking. What did her heart tell her? She knew she did not feel the same with Roman as she did with Pips. Was that a sign? Did she truly know but was ignoring it? Then there was the whole arranged relationship problem. She didn't think she could get out of it even if she tried. She went to bed that night feeling confused.
Morning...
Another day. Crysta dreaded getting up, dreaded seeing all that she had to work on. She was surprised to see others out there helping when she arrived.
"What's going on?" she asked her Mother.
"Go, relax for a bit," Mother told her. "You've been so stressed over so many things for a long time now. We have this under control." Crysta was shocked.
"Are you sure?" she asked, not believing it.
"Yes. You deserve it," Mother smiled at her.
"Okay." Crysta flew off in a daze. She had free time for the first time in two years, and she had no idea what to do with it. She wandered aimlessly. Without meaning to or even planning it, she stumbled upon Pips. He was sitting at the edge of the river lost in his thoughts.
"Oh," she said, making him turn around. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you'd be here."
"I'm just leaving," he said, getting up.
"No," she said. "Don't."
"It's fine," he said, moving past her.
"Wait!" she called. He stopped without turning around. "You were right."
"How so?" he asked, looking back at her.
"About everything. Let's just forget it. Okay?" She hoped really hard that he'd just agree. He stood there thinking. If he agreed, things would continue on and he'd get to spend time with her. If he didn't, things would get progressively worse and they would probably never talk to each other again.
"Okay," he said finally. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"So what do you want to do?" she asked.
"You actually get time off?" he questioned, surprised. She nodded. "I don't know. What is there to do around here?"
"Well," she said, getting an idea. Roman would never show her how to do this. "Can you teach me to spar?"
"Spar?" he asked, thinking he hadn't heard her correctly. "Why would you want to learn that?"
"To defend myself," she replied, sticking her chin out. "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing," he said. "I'm just surprised is all."
"Nobody else will teach me," she told him. "I want to learn." He rubbed his neck thoughtfully. He had not expected this at all.
"I dunno..." he trailed off.
"Please?" she begged. "Just basic stuff. It doesn't have to be complicated."
"A good spar is complicated," he laughed. "That's the point, to throw off the opponent."
"See? I didn't know that," she pointed out. "Tell me more."
"All right," he gave in. He approached her slowly. "You gotta be in a position where you can escape if you have to but also so you can make well timed blows to the other person." He reached out and turned her sideways.
"What are you doing?" she asked, feeling hot again.
"You said you wanted to learn," he replied. "I'm showing you."
"Okay," she said. She let him manipulate her limbs until she was in position. "Now what?"
"Put your hands up," he said. She lifted them, palms outward.
"No, no," he laughed. "Like this." He took her hands in his, making them into fists, one higher than the other. There went her stomach again. He hoped she hadn't noticed his hands were shaking a little. He wondered if she wanted to do this knowing he'd have a reason to touch her. He brought his focus back to her.
"This feels weird," she admitted.
"You look scary," he said, grinning. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
"Don't patronize me," she scoffed. "What do I do now?"
"Okay," he said. "So I'm your opponent, obviously, so I'm going to move in and take a swing." He did it quickly but knowing it wouldn't actually hit her. She blocked it with her wrists automatically. She looked amazed.
"I did it!" she said excitedly.
"Reflex does occur most of the time," he offered. "Good job. All right, now I'm going to try to knock you over." He grabbed her wrists and swiped at her legs behind the knees with his foot, making her lose balance and fall into a heap. He did his best to make it a soft landing unlike the way Damian did with him.
"Reflex did not help me with that one," she said, laughing. "You were too fast!"
"I've had years of practice," he said. She got to her feet.
"Well, then I'm learning from the best, aren't I?" she said.
"No, you're not," he laughed. "The best is back home."
"Who is that?"
"Damian. My sister's partner. He's the best. Guy rarely loses. You don't want to be against him that's for sure." He tilted his head at her. "Well? You up for more?"
"Of course," she replied. "I'm no quitter." She arranged herself into position without his help. He had to admit he was impressed she remembered how. It had taken him a few tries to get it right.
"Can you do your moves slower so I can figure out how to block them?" she asked. He nodded.
"I can do that. Here it comes," he said, moving in with an offensive move. She sidestepped it and moved so she was behind him.
"Are you sure you've never been shown this before?" he asked.
"It's logic, Pips. I do have that," she laughed.
"All right smarty," he said. He was going to show her. He faked a move to the left, making her go right, and he bumped her side with his arm and caught her in a headlock.
"Okay, okay," she gasped. "You are the smart one." He released her, smirking. They went on for a few hours practising moves. He loved how easy it was to teach her. Before long he had her delivering blows. She was thoroughly enjoying herself.
"I'm so gonna kick Roman's ass when he comes back," she gloated. "He'll have no idea what hit him, literally."
"Don't go challenging a pro just yet," Pips advised her. She just laughed.
"I'll do what I want," she said in a mock menacing tone. He felt shivers go through him then. He knew she could do what she wanted, especially with an attitude like that.
"Okay, one last time then I think we'll stop for now," he said. "Give me your best shot." Crysta pondered for a moment. She had figured out pretty quick his go to reaction moves. It was time to beat the master. She moved in, getting the block she expected and then she quickly swung her other fist around his other side. He didn't see it coming. Her punch was pretty hard. He actually stumbled.
"Oh!" she cried, covering her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry! I didn't actually mean to hit you." He stood there, holding his nose.
"Sure you didn't," he said.
"I really didn't," she replied, coming closer. "Is it bleeding?" She reached up and took his hand away, looking carefully.
"I'm all right. I've had worse," he told her, taking in her closeness. He noticed she was still holding his other hand.
"Are you sure?" she asked. The last thing she needed was to explain to her parents why their guest had a broken nose.
"I'm sure. Damian once dislocated my arm and almost broke my legs. This is nothing, honest," he promised.
"Okay," she said, trusting him. She let go of his hand, stepping back. "I should get back anyway. I feel bad for taking this long of time away to begin with." She left him standing there reflecting on her touch.
Thoughts? Comments? Did you like the scene where they were sparring? I hope this is still interesting!
P.S. I have branched out in my story writing, so if you like Friends/Mom, the DUFF, or Sue Thomas F. , look for those stories. Mom's Secret Friends, A DUFF Tale, and Deadly Games. Thanks y'all!