Chapter 14

Camping

After spending a week and $40,242 (remember the car) in San Francisco, Kit and Nita decided to move on. Or, more correctly, it was Nita who decided they move on.

"So where do you want to go, Kit?"

He shrugged.

"Oookay. Anywhere, anything…"

He rummaged through the dresser, sighed, and sat down on the bed, not even acknowledging he'd heard her. Nita waved her hand in front of his face worriedly.

"Helloooo…earth to Kit…hey!"

Kit swatted her away with a noise of exasperation.

She glared at him.

"Alright, then. Could you go check out for me then?"

Kit sighed, got up, and left the room.

Nita sighed and gathered all her things, tossing them into the otherspace claudication. Kit had seemed oddly distant of late, for what reason, she'd no idea. She looked at one of the photographs of them in her wallet and sighed again, even more wistfully. There they were, months younger, laughing and chatting on a park bench. Nita gazed at the picture and recalled that day. Kit had just been through one of the best days of his life, acing every one of his exams, and she had done nearly the same, acing all but one, which she achieved a B minus on. They had gone out for a while to celebrate, and that was the first time she'd seen him so bright and at ease. He'd joked and laughed with her for over three hours, and they had both gone home tired. She flipped through to the next photo. There they were again, this time Nita with a tennis racket over her shoulder and Kit hugging her as blue and white confetti showered down and the stands around them exploded in cheers. Both of them were laughing and crying as they hugged tightly, and Nita could still hear the announcer's voice booming in her ears.

And Callahan takes Smithers down for the championship! What a win! Coming from a slow start to this…

Nita sighed again as she remembered the day before that, when Kit had learned that he'd failed AP History, his best class. His life had been shattered, but he'd managed to pull himself together to coach and cheer Nita on in her most important game. That was the Kit she knew. This one…she hardly could believe was the same person.

Kit opened the door and entered. He silently grabbed their bags and carried them out the door, Nita trailing in his wake.

"Kit, what is up with you? You feeling alright?"

"I'm fine, Nita," he snapped.

She looked at her feet and followed him into the elevator.

The Volvo cruised down the southbound Interstate 101, Nita at the wheel, Kit still silent in the seat next to her. The radio played soft rock, and Nita tapped her fingers to the beat on the wheel. After some time on the road, Nita glanced over at Kit.

"What's up with you?" she asked.

Kit glared at her.

"Nita, I told you already. I'm fine."

Nita's temper flared.

"Well, excuse me for caring," she muttered darkly, feelings hurt.

Kit folded his arms.

"It's the truth," he said stubbornly.

"I'm fine."

"Well, stop acting like a total idiot, you jerk. It's…it's almost like I don't even know you…"

Kit closed his eyes and sighed his 'I-don't-want-to-hear-it' sigh.

If Nita's temper had flared before, this time it exploded and sent up a huge mushroom cloud.

"Well, fine," she snarled. "If you don't care, you think I'm boring, let me call Tom and Carl and see what I can do."

Kit glared at her, then, at the look of fury on her face, gave in.

He sighed, put his face in his hands, and asked, "What do you want to hear first?"

"Give me the whole story," Nita fumed. "NOW."

Kit sighed.

"Look, SF is a very high-maintenance city. So you'll probably not be surprised that there are thousands of hundreds of wizards out there. Somehow or another, the Lone One found out where we were, and decided to shadow me. Remember when I had to go meet someone? Well…he took your form…followed me, trying to convince me that he was you. I lost him in Fisherman's Wharf, found you, jumped to eighty-four different galaxies before coming back to our hotel. I was almost shadowed again, but I managed to dodge the attempt. Wait…" He looked suspiciously at Nita.

"How do I know you're you?"

Nita looked like she was ready to cry.

"Kit…if I was the Lone One, I wouldn't be caring enough to ask you these questions. You want physical proof? I have some. Ask me something."

Kit thought a moment.

"Who did you go to the Christmas Ball with?"

Nita smiled slightly.

"There was no Christmas Ball. It was cancelled due to the remodeling of the gym."

Kit stared, then winced and touched her hand.

"Nita… look, I'm really sorry. I just had to be cautious…I'm really, really sorry...Nita…oh, Nita, don't cry…please…"

It was too late. Unhindered tears streamed down Nita's cheeks for no apparent reason. Kit, reading her thoughts, touched her hand.

"Nita…whoa, Nita, pull over."

Nita activated her blinkers and pulled over.

She turned to Kit after shifting into neutral, tears still flowing down her cheeks to drop onto her Hawaiian blouse.

"What?" she asked.

Kit hugged her.

"No matter what, I will always love you. You know, there are times when I wonder where I'd be without you. Probably six feet under the ground in a little wooden coffin…"

Nita choked back a sob as a pitiful laugh bubbled out. She wiped her hair out of her eyes, tucked it behind her ears, and shook her head as her tears kept coming.

"I can't drive. You go ahead."

Kit touched her hand, and, switching seats with her, pulled out onto the road, jumping as Nita let out a squeaky hiccup. He looked at her, a grin spreading across his face.

"Alright, Neets?"

She smiled back through red-rimmed eyes.

"Yeah, fine. Thanks."

The Volvo passed through Gilroy, and the smell of garlic momentarily overpowered the new car scent. Very drastically.

Kit's eyes watered as he waved the smell away, switching to recycled air mode.

"Hoo, man. That's strong."

Nita rolled her eyes silently and grinned slightly.

"No duh, Sherlock. Gilroy's the garlic capitol if California, producing up to…"

"Yeah…I…kinda figured that,"

Nita snorted and sat back in her seat. A silence filled the space between them, and the large cabin of the S70 was quiet except for the steady hum of the engine and the quiet folk rock song blaring out of the radio. Nita closed her eyes, not knowing what to say to break the silence. It was times like this that she hated, times where it was awkward and hard to think, and times where you couldn't tell anyone about them. This was one of both. She racked her brains for something to say, found nothing, and remained silent.

Fifteen minutes later

Nita was now completely bored out of her mind. She felt like she had rockets strapped to her feet and they were doing their best to drag her out of her seat. Her hyperactive side was coming to kill her. No more sugar for breakfast, she vowed silently. Absolutely not. No caffeine, no soda, no sugar at all. Never again…never, do you hear me, Nita?

"Yeah," she said out loud, then realized what she'd done when Kit looked at her.

"Huh?"

Nita turned red.

"Oh, nothing…nothing…really…"

Kit sniffed and turned back to his driving. Nita slapped herself mentally.

You idiot Nita. You idiot…

"Hey, Kit?"

"Hmm?"

"Is there anywhere near here where we can get out and walk around? I am gonna go through the roof…literally…If I don't burn some energy here…"

"Check the map."

Grumbling, Nita pulled out their map of California and scanned it.

"Oh, great. Nothing on our side until…uh…Paso Robles. Which is about…oh…two hundred miles away…"

Kit sighed.

"Oh, fine. We could always Jump to the parking lot of the harbor…"

"PLEASE!!!!"

"…but then again, we might want to see the sights along the way…"

"KIT!!!!!!"

"…or, we could go somewhere that's not crowded…"

"COME ON!!!!"

"…like…oh, Catalina…"

"CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ!!!!!"

"…oh, yeah. That'll be fine. Let me contact Tom and Carl."

He was silent for a while as Nita fumed, then he shut the connection off with a grin.

"Let's go."

He muttered something, checked his rearview mirror, then dropped his all-purpose large objects transport spell. They disappeared with a bam, much to the puzzlement of the driver of the red Taurus behind them.

The Volvo's chassis hit the ground, the suspension bounced the car as it came down, narrowly missing a Corvette and neatly ending up in a parking spot. Nita got out in a huge rush and went off running, trying desperately to burn energy before she exploded. Kit shook his head, chuckled, and went into the main building to buy his pass.

After managing to obtain two passes, Kit picked their campground for the two weeks they'd be there.

Nita looked on over his shoulder as he pointed to a site.

"Campground 16 near Two Harbors."

The desk attendant jotted something down.

"Alright. No cars, but other than that, you're good to go. Don't care how you get there, just get there by four. The guys'll be coming around then and making sure that everyone's where they're supposed to be. If you aren't, then, you lose out. Sorry. Thanks for doing business with us."

Kit nodded curtly and left. He quickly threw a shape-conforming shield spell over the Volvo, then picked out the coordinates for the campsite. He entered them in the spell, then, activated it with a short, sharp syllable. They were gone in a clap of air and a chuckle from Nita.

Nita trudged up the last hill and set her bags down. In front of her lay a small area: a picnic table with an open roof over it, a fire pit, hills, and a water spigot at the far side of camp. Behind her, also part of their camp, was a small route leading up a hill to a flat area, where there was enough room for maybe two good-sized tents. Kit was already pitching their tent: a Greatland® four-person. It was water-resistant in case of rain, and also insect-proof. Kit had had an unfortunate encounter with a scorpion last time he went camping in the Appalachians with Nita's father. It was a good thing it had only been a baby…

Kit finished the tent amazingly fast and was already setting up a radio and laying out sleeping bags. Tom and Carl had absolutely refused to let them keep their magic while camping, and they had disabled their powers for the time being. Kit snorted as he thought of the long walk up to the camp while Tom and Carl worked on their powers. He needed the exercise, though. Nita poked her head in.

"Hey. Can I come in?"

Kit put the finishing touches on the zippered windows.

"Sure thing. Take your shoes off first."

Nita tossed her tennis shoes aside and crawled into the tent. She sprawled on her sleeping bag, then propped herself up on one elbow.

"So what first?"

Kit copied her position.

"I dunno. You?"

Nita's eyes flashed with amusement.

"Tom said we ought to get to know each other better…" she said, putting subtle emphasis on the 'know'. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. He hugged her, and they toppled with an 'oof' from Kit onto Nita's sleeping bag.

After ten minutes of snuggling, they decided to stop. Nita kissed Kit once more, then slipped out of his arms.

"Awright, Kit.," she sighed, tucking her hair neatly back into place. "Now what?"

Kit smoothed his shirt out. "I'm not sure. Want to go swimming?"

"Again?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, fine. Get me my wetsuit and get out of the tent."

Kit chuckled and tossed her the swimsuit and her wetsuit, then left the tent, turning his back. After much rustling, struggling, and swearing from inside the tent, Nita came out, red in the face and tugging her wetsuit, which had stubbornly refused to go on smoothly. Kit grinned slightly as Nita hit him in the face with his swim trunks and wetsuit, then changed smoothly and came out quickly. Nita gave him a hearty punch in the shoulder at the look on his face.

Kit shivered as he waded into the water. Through chattering teeth, he called, "Come on out, Neets. It's all good."

"Kit, it's freakin' freezing out there. You're not going to get me out there for…"

"I'll buy you dinner."

"No."

"Give you first choice of the restaurant."

"No."

"You build the fire."

"No."

"I'll kiss you."

"No, Kit, and you can't make me."

Kit sighed and waded back to shore. He put his arm around Nita very casually and said, "Nita, you know, you left your bracelet on those rocks over there."

Nita glanced up and out at a few rocks sticking out of the sea. Indeed, her bracelet sat on the rocks, along with her towel. She frowned.

"Kit, that wasn't funny."

He stared at her.

"You think I did it?"

"Uh…"

"Oh, never mind. Let's just go get them."

They made their way out onto the rocks, wincing as their bare feet hit the loose stone fragments. Nita managed to make it out to where she could reach the bracelet, and she reached for it. It was the work of a moment for Kit. With a casual sweep of his foot and a move of his arms, he 'accidentally' tripped Nita into the ocean, then 'fell' in after her. Coughing and spluttering, Nita, eyes wide with fear and fury, berated Kit ferociously.

"Kit, you evil piece of…KIT, I'M GONNA KILL YOU! You evil little…you…YOU… "

He casually dunked Nita.

"Oh, stop complaining. Let's go."

Nita bobbed to the surface with a series of expletives that would have made Dairine flinch. She punched the water angrily, then stroked after Kit.

Four hours later

Nita shivered by the roaring bonfire Kit had gotten going. Through chattering teeth, she managed to snarl,

"Kit, you evil piece of…oh, I am going to kill you…Kit, I swear to you…AUUUUGGGHHHH…"

Kit patted her head absentmindedly.

"Sorry, Nita. But wasn't it fun?"

"Freezing in forty-degree water, being chased by sharks again, getting caught in kelp, and almost getting hit by an anchor aren't my idea of fun, Kit."

"But the garibaldi are so neat…did you hear them? They're so clueless sometimes…but really cute."

"Kit, I'm still gonna kill you."

"Okay. What d'you want for dinner?"

"I'm gonna kill you."

"So single-minded, Nita. Really."

"Kit…"

"Hmm?"

"I'm gonna kill you."

"Violence never solved anything," Kit remarked.

"KIT!"

"Huh?"

"I'm gonna kill you."

"Okay. Popcorn sound good? We can go fishing."

"KIT!"

"Hey, I'm trying to help. Alright. Stay here. I'll be back in a little while. Stay in the tent, and contact me if you need me. Fred's here, just to let you know. I'm letting him out…now."

Kit opened his claudication, and a ball of white light zipped out and settled on Nita's shoulder.

Hello, Nita. I take it I am staying here to watch you?

"Yeah, Fred. Thanks," Kit said. "I'll be back in about fifteen minutes, so don't leave, okay?"

He disappeared down the dirt path in a matter of seconds.

Nita instantly started plotting her revenge on Kit as Fred looked on over her shoulder.

Kit walked up the dirt path, wondering where Nita was as he entered the campsite and saw no one there. He was, without warning, hit by a bucketful of cold ocean water from Nita's hiding place behind the tent. Sopping wet, he held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay, truce! Truce!"

Nita grinned and asked, "What'd you bring back?"

Kit tossed her a box of PopTarts, three candy bars, two packs of M&Ms, a roll of Shock Tarts, three Gatorades, four iced teas, a popcorn pan with popcorn already in it, and a big pack of AA batteries. She nodded, ripped open the popcorn, and placed it over the fire, where it instantly began to puff up and explode. She tossed one of the M&Ms packs to Kit, who ripped it open and tossed one into his mouth. He chewed it, swallowed, and choked as Nita bounced a pebble off his head. He rubbed it ruefully, sighed, and, taking a popcorn kernel from the pan, flung it at her. It flew well wide, and she laughed.

"Huh. Missed-again."

Kit rolled his eyes but didn't reply, instead ripping a patch of dead plants up from the ground behind him and using that to flare the fire. He took the popcorn off, then noticed that his nose and eyes were burning. He set the popcorn down on a rock, then wiped his eyes, as Nita was doing as they both heard a slight popping from the wild mustard plants they were burning. The seeds were popping, and thus releasing a horrid smell and chemicals into the air. Kit threw dirt on the burning mustard, and the fire went out, but the smell and taste lingered. Especially on the popcorn, which actually tasted better with the mustard added. Just that missing hint of spice…

Kit wiped his eyes again, and got the fire burning again after exiling the mustard plants and using various grasses and popcorn as tinder as he put iron to flint. Sparks flew, and one hit a piece of popcorn, which instantly blew up in a raging inferno, igniting the leaves and small branches Kit was placing on the fire. He found a thick booklet of paper coupons under a bush, and used those to send flames leaping into the night. He piled large branches on, and sat back and relaxed as Nita looked in the tent for her marshmallows. She emerged with them, and Kit tossed her a stick he'd been sterilizing in the fire.

"Here. Take it and use it. No, it's not oleander. Just eat. I will."

With that, Kit took three marshmallows and, tossing one into the fire, watched as it crisped, then burst into flames before melting into a small puddle at the bottom of the fire pit. On a sudden inspiration, he tossed an M&M into the fire. It melted and was liquid before it hit the ground. Kit sighed and poked his marshmallows into the fire. He watched them brown, then, as he was about to pull them out, they simultaneously burst into flames. He blew them out, then ate both. He grinned at Nita, who'd scrapped hers in favor of toasting PopTarts in the popcorn pan. She watched the Wild Berry pastry blacken on the bottom, then took it out and ate it.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"I'm going to bed. You know how to get into your side, right?"

"Yeah. See you in the morning."

"Don't forget to put the fire out, okay?"

"Will do. G'night, Kit."

"Night, Neets."

Kit dived into his sleeping bag after kicking his shoes off and grabbed his flashlight. He stood it up between the zippered barrier so he could at least see a bit. Not long after he lay down, he heard Nita throw water on the fire, kick off her shoes, and come into the tent. She flung her socks outside as well, then lay down.

"Hey, Nita?"

She started, then relaxed.

"Oh, Kit. I thought you were asleep. Whatcha want?"

"What time is it?"

She checked her watch.

"Eleven fourteen."

"Oh. Thanks. Well…"

"Yeah. See you tomorrow morning."

"Yeah. Love you, Nita."

"Hey, Kit. You blushing?"

"Uh…I guess not."

"Hey, good. Confidence is everything. Yeah, well, I love you too. Good night. Sweet dreams."

"Of you?"

Nita laughed quietly.

"Anything."

"Alright. Night, Nita."

"G'night, Kit."

"Hey, Nita?"

"What?"

"You know any good ghost stories?"

"Oh, Kit, c'mon. I'd kind of like to get to bed."

"Alright, alright. See you in the morning."

"Yeah. And then to the tennis courts."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Now, shuttup, will you?"

Kit touched Nita's hand through the thin cloth separating them.

"Sorry."

"Uh-huh. Now go to sleep."

The ocean roared distantly, crickets chirping their daily hymn to the rising of the moon, and the occasional lonely hoot of an owl. All was quiet in their camp, the silence broken only by the humming of Fred as he flitted about on guard duty and the heavy breathing of Kit and Nita as they dozed.

And so ended their long, eventful day.

A/N: Oookay. So, I'm okay, but my stories seem to be…a bit off. Not enough research on my part… sorry you guys. Tell me if I'm slipping in anything. I've hit my version of writer's block. This one prevents me from doing my stories like I used to. D/E is gonna have to wait a bit…sorry.