Laney looked up from the table she was cleaning when the little bell above the door sounded. She smiled, seeing Cam's purple hat peak around the edge of the door as he walked in. "Hullo, Cam!"

Cam nodded to her and kept the door open for someone- and for just a fraction of a second her smile faltered.

"Hi… Phillip. How are you?" She regained herself.

If Phillip noticed her surprise at seeing him come back here willingly it wasn't evident on his face. "The same as I'll be later, when you swing by the farm." He said. "Except Cam and I are off to fetch some mint for Eileen, so I figured I'd say hi now."

Laney just smiled back at him. "Well that's nice- do you want something sweet, too?"

Cam made his way behind the counter and started putting together sandwiches, seeing that Howard was out at the moment.

"Uh… no thanks." Phillip took a seat at one of the perimeter tables, not wanting to have a long conversation. He watched her clean off a few more tables, her white skirt rippling behind her as she trotted energetically around from place to place. The tables looked as if they were cleaned off every hour, on the hour.

He watched her carefully wipe all surfaces of a little vase and set it back down gingerly, as if it were made of ice. Something about her demeanor was off. Sure, she seemed happy enough…

As Cam was putting the cucumbers back in the fridge, Laney appeared at his side, the smile from earlier still plastered eagerly on her face. He resisted the urge to sigh. "You're taking him to the mountain?" She said as if pretending to approve. "How long do you plan on being gone for?"

Then he did sigh. "Just a little while. Did you need anything from there?"

Her big blue eyes leveled on him and she pouted a little bit. "Well, I haven't seen a single magic blue flower yet this spring and they are my favorite…"

She put a finger up to her lips as if she was unsure about how to ask, waiting for him to respond. He knew that if he didn't say anything now, she'd wait all day for him to reply. "I'll keep an eye out for them, okay?" Cam said, looking away as if the conversation was over.

He finished wrapping the sandwiches and turned to go, but she put her hand on his wrist with a light touch, as if she was afraid to be too close to him.

"But- Cam?" He stopped at the sudden change in her voice. She sounded worried. "Yes?" He asked quietly.

"Are… are you allowed to take him foraging by yourself? Is Georgia going too?"

He turned to face her, and studied her expression for a moment. She was the last person he felt like telling the truth to about this. If she knew he planned on taking Phillip all the way back to Konohana high today…

"I think Geo has patrol later, so we might see her." He hedged.

"Grady has patrol, but that's not what I asked. If he becomes… violent again, or if dad finds out…"

"Then don't say anything. You don't need to. Howard wants Phillip to participate in village activities like anyone else who lives here would. Filling a request is a part of that."

The blond girl crossed her arms over her chest and leaned towards him, the pretense of her happy-go-lucky persona lost for the moment. "I don't want you to go alone with him!" She nearly stamped her foot at him. "It's not safe."

"What's not safe?" Smiled Phillip, leaning over the counter all of a sudden.

Laney jumped back, sputtering. "Uhm… the mountain, you boys have to be careful…"

Phillip ran a hand through his short auburn hair self consciously. "Laney, you don't have to pretend that you like everyone all the time. If you don't like me for whatever reason, I'd rather you be honest about it."

She stared at him for a moment in shock.

Then embarrassment took over and she thrust her hands in front of her, palms towards him as if in surrender. "I-I do like everyone here just fine and…"

Phillip put his palms up against hers and she stopped talking the moment they touched, peeking over them shyly in surprise. "Can we start over?" He asked.

Her face went red enough to match her sweater. "I… I don't know what you mean…"

Phillip lowered their hands, and took one of hers into a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you. I'm Phillip… I just moved here to Bluebell. And you are…?"

"…Laney." She said, confusion all over her face. "What's it matter to you, anyways?"

Drat. She'd meant for that sentence to come out sounding nice.

He shrugged. "Isn't it better to be honest than fake a smile every time you have to see me? I'm living here now, after all."

If it didn't seem possible earlier, her face became another shade darker. Before she could remember her manners she yanked her hand out of his. "I just remembered something…. I have to…"

She backed away from the counter and turned to go up the stairs, tripping over the bottom most stair in the process.

Over her shoulder she offered a quick 'Be safe." To Cam, who was hiding his eyes suspiciously under his hat.

…

Once Phillip and Cam were back outside, the tall florist finally started laughing. "You have a way with girls, huh? I've never seen her so red."

Phillip shrugged again. "I can tell it bothers you too, the way she fakes being happy all the time. What's her problem, anyways?"

Cam looked at him for a moment. "I guess once you get to know Howard…"

"I am never getting to know Howard." The boy spat out. "The man is a menace."

A sidelong glance from under that hat again. "Alright." There was no judging in Cam's tone. Almost as if he understood.

They walked together in silence after that.

…

Once upstairs, Laney shut herself in her room and pressed her back up against the door, heat still pooling in her cheeks. She took a deep breath in to calm herself, but then took two more, and ended up breathing too quickly all over again.

She was so, so embarrassed.

How bold of him, to call her out like that… and in front of Cam, no less!

If her father thought for one second she was being less than polite to people she would get it, but she knew that wasn't the real reason her breath now caught in her throat and choked her.

She knew better than to believe her father's temper was the reason for this.

That rat… that stupid boy… he was so… She couldn't form the words in he mind, it was blank with angry shock at his presumption.

'Let's start over, let's be friends'

Sauntering in as if he owned the place, acting as if he had complete control.

Acting as if mere days ago he hadn't been locked up downstairs, and grateful to get a meal, to see her face!

Yes, she had been rude to leave like that, but Phillip- there was something in the way that he looked at her. It was like he could look straight through, stripping away everything about her and knowing what she was really feeling on the inside.

She had worked so hard to befriend him this week, visiting every day (her dad made her do that, but so what, they just wanted him to feel welcome). How had he possibly known that she secretly loathed him?

She couldn't help it, anyways. After the way Cam had looked when they brought that guy back to the café- his split lip, bloodied face and telltale limp- how could she forgive him for that?

Cam was special. He was the one genuine person in this entire town and-

It was unnerving, that was all.

Dangerous.

Covering her face, she doubted she'd ever be able to really be a friend of someone like that... He was violent. He was far too open and perceptive. It wasn't safe… it didn't feel right.

Real friends were for show, anyways. Georgia and her got along fine by gathering over at the café fence several times a week, talking about how nice the weather was. That's all they wanted to do- show the other villagers that they were sociable, nice girls. Eligible bachelorettes with no unhealthy hobbies that were an asset to the village. It was a way to fit in, to show that you had friends while really not having to maintain any friendships. The same greetings, the same answers. Everyday.

That was the bread and butter of Bluebell- its rich historic tradition. Everyone could rely on one another, could be part of something greater than themselves. By sharing a routine with each other they shared the comfort of never having to dive in too deeply. To find out what really went on below the surface of the calm waters was to invite disaster, and she knew it.

Another shaky breath claimed her as she sunk down to the floor.

Getting everyone to really know each other would just shatter everything, she thought in between dry sobs.

Phillip was unpredictable. To make matters worse, there was no way he was loyal to Bluebell after the way he was brought here.

From the open window outside she heard a quiet chuckle, and momentarily forgot her angry feelings long enough to sneak over and take a look. She thought it sounded like Cam-

And it was. Was he actually laughing…?

She could never make him do that. She put her hands up on the window sill and felt the breeze come in, lifting her feathery blond hair up to tickle her face.

She felt so out of place.

Jealously she watched as the new guy waltzed away, casually making her best friend open up, casually breaking down the walls that she had spent years trying to scale.

And she hated him.