Just a Little Push

Part 10

Ally was a pretty predictable girl when you came right down to it, particularly when she was upset... Arthur knew exactly where she would be right now. As far away from everyone else as she could possibly be—this would mean that she was probably in the middle of the woods. Probably sitting on a stump or rock or something and bawling her eyes out.

He sighed as he pushed at a bush, wincing as a branch—thorn branch—that he hadn't noticed scraped against his bare leg. Why was he doing this again? Oh, yes, because he was in love with probably the most troublesome girl on earth. Besides Gill, at least.

"Al? Al, where the bloody hell are yo—?" And then his forehead was introduced rather abruptly to a tree branch. "Ow...Fucking tree."

Honestly, he had no idea what he was going to say when he actually found her. He hated dealing with sibling relationships, since it wasn't like he had much experience with any sort of good family relationships... Not with his brothers (half brothers, technically), he sure didn't.

Still. The last thing he wanted was for Ally to be alone right now. Even if he had no idea what sort of advice he should be giving her.

"Al? Come on, I'm braving a fucking forest for you, the least you can do is answer me."

There was also another reason that he really hoped that he found her soon. Since he kind of hadn't really been paying too much attention to the directions he took and was now pretty sure that he had no idea how to get back.

Plus it was starting to get dark... And cold.

He mentally cursed himself for not thinking to wear a jacket. Honestly, he should've known that she'd be a pain to find.

What did you want to bet that she was back in her cabin right now and he was wandering around the woods for no good reason?

Although that idea was almost instantly dashed when he broke through a rather dense, massive pricker-bush and found himself in a small clearing... And in the middle of that clearing, sitting on a fallen tree, face buried in the collar of her bomber jacket, was a sniffling Ally.

Arthur immediately froze, his stomach twisting uncomfortably as he stared at her. He could hear her crying from here...and she was shivering, since she was still only dressed in her probably still-damp bikini and that jacket.

Shit. He had no idea what he was supposed to do right now. He'd always been awful at comforting people. Especially when that person happened to be the girl that he was rather madly in love with—the barely-dressed girl that he was madly in love with, just to make things even more awkward.

"Al?"

Her head jerked up, eyes widening in shock as she stared at him. Apparently she'd been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't heard him calling for her. "Ah, ah—Artie... What—?" She wiped at her cheek with the back of her hand in an attempt to hide the evidence that she'd been crying. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to find you. Gill said that you guys had a fight."

She immediately tensed, making him think that this probably wasn't how he should've started this conversation. "It wasn't a fight. That...that...did you know about it?"

He assumed she meant the whole fact that her sister and Gill had apparently been dating for quite a while. For a moment he hesitated, then admitted, "Not really. I was starting to get a little suspicious, but I didn't know anything."

"So I'm the only one who had no idea that my sister was a dyke?"

Arthur winced at the rather harsh tone her voice had taken. This conversation was not going well. And he was absolutely freezing...and Ally probably was too. "No, I'm sure that no one else knew..." Besides Francis and Antonio. And probably Lovina... "You can't really blame Mattie too much for this, though, Al. I mean..." He hesitated and then sat down on the log beside her, attempting to think through what he wanted to say that wouldn't make her angrier. "I mean, not that I'm saying that she was right in keeping it from you, but—she's Mattie. She was probably trying to work up the nerve to tell you."

"I'm her sister, though! What? Did she think I'd hate her or something just because she's a lesbian...or bi or whatever she is? I don't care about that!"

"It's not something that's an easy thing to admit, Al." Arthur was really wishing somebody else was having this talk with her. Someone like Kiku. Kiku would be good at this sort of thing. "And...you've never really hidden the fact that you don't like Gill."

She pouted at this, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. "That's because I knew she was a pervert from the very beginning. Hanging out with Antonio and Francis all the time..."

Arthur felt his stomach clench again at those words. Yes... It was so easy to forget about those things when he was with her. So easy to forget why he had to keep his feelings for her under control. Because she didn't know about the things he'd done... She never would know about the things he'd done. "Gill isn't that bad, Al. Trust me, I grew up with her. Compared to some people, she was a regular angel."

Ally glanced up at him, her eyes plainly showing that she didn't believe him. "Then those people must have been absolute scum."

...Well, that had hurt a bit more than he thought it would. "...Yeah."

She sighed and suddenly leaned forward, resting her elbows on her bare legs in a completive pose. "So, what do you think I should do, Artie?"

And here he was supposed to give advice. Sibling advice, just to make it worse. "I'd say to give yourself some time before you talk to Mattie about this. Give yourself some time to come to grips with the idea. And don't do anything rash to Gill."

Ally pouted up at him at this... And she really shouldn't look so absolutely adorable when she did that. "But, Artie... Not even a little prank?"

"No." Gillian and little prank should never be put together in the same sentence. "You two would end up trying to kill each other by the end of the week. You're too similar in that respect."

And now Ally jumped up, hands on her hips, pout only increasing as she stared down at him. "I am nothing like that albino freak!"

He blinked...And then grinned slightly, amused by the affronted posture she'd taken up. "You and Gill are exactly alike, Al. Really, it's probably the reason you can't get along..."

"We are not!"

"You're both athletic, you like the same movies, you both come up with the most hare-brained schemes, you're both loud and obnoxious, you think much too highly of yourselves..." Now he was on more comfortable ground. This was the sort of conversation he was used to having with Ally.

"I am not like her at all! She's the evil villain and I'm the hero! Evil villains and heroes can never be the same!"

The more that he thought about it, the more that he realized that Gill and Ally really were incredibly similar. In bad and good ways... They were both ridiculously loyal to their family and friends, they were both rather popular with their peers. It really would explain why they clashed so much.

"We're going back to the cabin!" And suddenly he was startled out of his thoughts when she grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet.

And his heart definitely did not speed up from her just touching him. At least, it better not have if it knew what was good for it.

"Do you even know the way out?"

She turned slightly, flashing him a grin—not quite as bright as her usual one, but it was getting there. "Of course I do, Artie. I won't let you get lost."

"I wasn't worried about me!" He noticed that she hadn't let go of his wrist yet. It would be nice if her hand would slip down a little bit...

No! No thinking that! He wasn't supposed to give in to those feel—

"Um, and Artie..."

He was startled (again, honestly, she never gave him a break) from his internal thoughts by her voice, much softer than he'd ever really heard her talk before. She was refusing to look at him, the hand that wasn't holding onto his wrist fisted deep in the pocket of her jacket. He blinked, staring at her in confusion.

"...Thanks. For coming to get me, I mean..."

Another blink. And he felt his cheeks begin to heat up. "Oh..." And now he was looking away. "It—it was nothing. I couldn't let you get lost or something. Knowing you, you'd be stuck in here forever, git..."

There was another moment of silence. And then he felt her hand shift slightly...And then inch down... Slowly...Centimetre by centimetre... Until their palms were touching, fingers lightly brushing against each other.

He didn't dare move. All he could do was stare off into the distance, all of his attention caught by the feel of her hand against his...

And then she slowly curled her fingers between his. And he curled his in response, without thinking.

And, before he could do anything, Ally suddenly turned toward him again, expression bright. "All right, so come on, slow poke!" And she was hurrying out of the clearing, along the path that he had made, tugging him along after her. Their fingers still intertwined...

Ally was not making it easy for Arthur to repress all his romantic feelings for her. Not easy at all.

A/N: ...Aw. I love Arthur ;D Although he needs to give up on his attempts to ignore his feelings.

So, I love how all of the couples in this story are at completely different levels in their relationships. It makes it more entertaining for me to write... (and hopefully for you to read).

And I feel for you, Artie with your getting-hit-by-a-tree-branch adventure. I got hit by a stupid branch while I was mowing the lawn today, since it wasn't as springy as it looked. It was rather painful...And I ended up scratching my eyelid in the process... Which feels really really weird, actually... And I've got a scratch on my forehead... Sigh. Stupid trees...