Chapter Five
They settled into a silence sitting at the picnic table before he finally spoke up again. "Sorry about your parents." He finally said. "And your hand." He added before shaking his head. "That was stupid to say together, I'm going to shut up now actually." Why couldn't he just enjoy the comfortable silence with her instead of being an idiot and talking.
"Thanks, I think." She said shaking her own head as she smiled at him, at least she didn't hate him. "It's just another bump in the road or whatever." Tem said. "I'm sorry about your mom." She added and he shrugged he was too but he was better off.
"I have Pops, that's really all I need. Jar and I are lucky to have him, he really helped us out by moving us here with him." He mentioned. "We grew up in Philly, and moved here when I was ten. It's just been the three of us since then." He wasn't sure why he was telling her all of this, though really that was innocent information.
She was quiet for a long time before he noticed a tear run down her cheek. "Tem? What's wrong?" He asked concerned as he moved quickly to her side of the table and sat by her.
"Does it get easier?" She whispered to him. "Your parents being gone for so long, does the idea of them being gone get easier?" His chest hurt at how sad she was and he moved a hand to her arm having noticed how she tended to flinch if he or anyone got too close to her. He often wondered why but it wasn't any of his business.
"I guess." Booth said after a moment. "My dad disappeared after my mom, I've never missed him. I don't know if it gets easier or if you just sort of learn to live without them." It was hard to admit. "Like I said I'm lucky to have Pops, if it weren't for him, I don't know where we would be." Just like you he thought to himself but he wasn't going to say that. "I don't know if it'll ever get easier."
She wiped her eyes and moved slightly away from him, embarrassed that she had another weak moment. All she had since moving was weak moments, first panic attacks, getting an attitude, and now crying. This wasn't who she was. She had promised herself she would never let herself be weak. "Sorry, I should leave you be." Temperance said before getting up quickly. Booth swung for her arm and she yelped and closed her eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He said as he jumped back obviously giving her space. "You aren't bothering me… I've never talked to anyone about this stuff before, it's nice to be able to talk to someone. Don't leave, we don't have to talk about them anymore. Let's… Let's go for a walk and talk about something else. I won't touch you, promise." She opened her eyes and could tell he was freaked out and finally nodded slightly.
"I apologize, I don't have a handle on my emotions or well anything right now. I shouldn't have freaked out like that." She wasn't sure she'd ever not be scared. "A walk would be good, maybe you can show me around some more? I haven't really been anywhere but into town. I've been a little weary of walking by myself." Temperance admitted.
He immediately nodded and stood up and she wondered if she should tell Brad and Lisa where she was going before they left. Making a quick decision she ran inside and let them know she would be with Booth before joining him by the road. "Okay." She said looking forward to getting to see the town a bit more.
There wasn't a whole lot to the small town within walking distance outside of the college and the Main Street. There really wasn't a lot for anyone under the age of eighteen she quickly realized, but that was probably common for a small college town.
"Where are we going?" She asked as he took them through the woods by the cul de sac and down a path worn into the ground.
"It's a short cut to the college, those who work over there from here who walk to work or bike come through here instead of taking the main road." He explained and she nodded, having not gone on campus yet. Lisa had mentioned taking her to show her where she worked and her office but with classes not in session anymore for the summer except for summer classes they hadn't got the chance yet. "It's pretty empty this time of year except for those who stayed on campus for classes. Which I don't get wanting to go to school all year long." He rolled his eyes and she laughed.
"I'd do it." She shrugged, giggling when he looked at her confused. "I like school, I've hated not going. I don't want to miss out on my education." Learning was her escape, even if her classmates were often not very nice to her.
"You're super smart, right? You seem super smart, why go to school when you're probably smarter than the teachers?" He asked and she shrugged as they dodged a couple loose branches hanging from the trees as they neared the edge of the woods.
"I am, yes. I have a very high IQ but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy being in a classroom and working on assignments. I can't graduate and go to college if I don't make it through high school." She explained. "In the past school was a way to not be home and before… my dad was a science teacher so he made school and home better I guess." She continued unsure how she kept bringing up her parents when she didn't want to talk about them. "Do you not like school?"
He shook his head. "I like my friends and sports but not really. I do okay in classes so that's not an issue I guess I'm normal and don't like school." He answered and she shrugged. "Not that it's not normal to like school though you may be one of the few. I like that you're smart though, you're probably the smartest person I know."
He groaned internally at how quickly he could talk himself into a corner with her. He was typically much smoother in conversation, especially with girls but there was something about Temperance that he was intimidated by. She was unlike anyone he had ever met before and while he appreciated that, he had no idea how to go about it either.
"I am the smartest you know, not that I know all the people you know but I am thinking that statistically that is a true statement." He chuckled at her as he guided her out of the wooded area where the college campus finally began.
"This is it." He introduced motioning to the west side of campus they had stepped into. "Right here is the basketball court. There is also the school gym and pool as well as a sandwich place. There are a few classrooms here too. On the other side of the building is an auditorium where they host some shows and acts and it's where the music and theater department is located." He stated giving her a small rundown of the area they were in.
"This side of campus has all the sports fields except for football, most of the residence halls and then the art buildings. I think Lisa works on the other side of campus across the road." Tem was looking around the area they were in like she was memorizing the location. "Come on I'll show you around some. We visit the campus like every year. It's like a free day I guess but super boring."
They walked through the west side of campus and he pointed to different things that he thought were good to know. They passed a couple of college students still on campus for summer but didn't pay too much attention to them. Tem seemed to be hanging on to every word that he said, genuinely interested in his little tour. "Pops took Jared and I to a football game the first weekend we moved here. I think it was to help keep our minds off things. The team is pretty good every year, I come with my friends sometimes and we sneak into after parties. You should come with us this fall." It helped that the school was recruiting him to play in two years after graduation so the players were acquainted with him and the rest of this team.
"That would be fun, I think." She answered with a small shrug. "I've never been invited to anything like that before. I'm not sure I'd be good company. If I'm still here, that is." He noticed how she talked like she was walking on eggshells around him not wanting to dive into a deep conversation but answering enough to make him wonder what she was really meaning.
"What do you mean if you're still here? Where would you go?" He asked, stopping in front of her and taking immediate note of the pointed look she gave him. "Oh if you go to another family." Booth said softly. Shaking his head he shrugged her words off. "Nah the Mitchell's love you, I don't see why you would move ever again. I think you're stuck with me, Tem. Might as well get used to it." He flashed her a charming smile.
She looked down at the ground and he took a small step towards her wondering what she was thinking. "While that is a good scenario, in this case we will just have to see what happens." She finally said as he looked up at him. "Good things don't really happen to me so the likelihood of that happening isn't in my favor." He noticed how sad she looked as she spoke.
Her words weighed heavily on his mind as they walked slowly through campus switching to small talk as he pointed at different things in the area until they finally ended up on main street. Walking into the coffee shop he ordered them both drinks and a pastry before joining her at the table. "Tell me something you want more than anything." He questioned as he leaned against the table at her.
She raised an eyebrow at him as she took a drink from the cup and he chuckled wondering what was going through her mind at that moment. "To become an Anthropologist." She said full of confidence that made him smile. "I want to graduate high school and then go to college and travel the world studying humans. I want to look at a set of bones and be able to tell you what they've been through, who they were and how they lived." Tem was full of life and passion as she talked that Booth almost forgot that she wasn't doing that already. He didn't have passion for anything like that, he had no clue what he wanted to do with his life.
"That sounds amazing." He murmured still in awe over her. The twinkle in her eyes was still present as he looked into him. "Why Anthropology?" While he didn't know a lot about it outside of covering it lightly in school once or twice, he wasn't sure if he could decide on it as a career. She shrugged slightly, the light in her eyes starting to fade and he felt like he had crossed an invisible line he didn't know was there. "You don't have to tell me, it's okay." He assured her.
"No, I'll answer. It's just that." She paused. "I got made fun of at my old schools for like bones and wanting to study the dead." Booth nodded slowly making sure he kept her attention on her so that she knew he was listening. "It's just what I've always wanted to do. I guess it's creepy but I've always been fascinated by the dead and when I knew what it was that I was fascinated by and that there was a science behind it. I just knew that it's what I'm meant to be." Her bottom lip sucked into her teeth after she finished talking and he resisted the urge to reach over and remove it.
"I don't think it's creepy." Okay yes he did and he sighed. "Okay, it's a little creepy but nothing I would make fun of you for. We all have our interests, I don't see anything wrong with that." He saw her immediately tense up and he moved his hand to her casted arm. "Don't take it wrong, I promise it's not a bad thing. There is nothing wrong with having interests that other people don't have. I mean really the fact that you know what you want to do with your life and you're so passionate about it? I'm- I'm jealous of that, and I bet anyone who has ever made fun of you? I bet they were jealous as well, you're confident in who you are and what you want to be. That's, well that's hot." He declared.
She stared at him for a moment and he considered punching himself in the face at once again overstepping with her. "I don't understand how something can be hot without there being heat involved. Fevers, food, coffee, the sun; are all hot but me being confident doesn't not radiate heat. Therefore it can't be hot." Tem finally said and he chuckled at her genuine confusion of pretty much everything non scientific.
"Okay the first thing we are going to accomplish this summer is common phrases and pop culture." He mused. She was beyond smart but he could tell she was lacking in the social skills area and while he was sure he could protect her from being bullied regardless, it would help for her to be able to hold her own in conversation.
"Megan has told me the same thing. We're going to the mall this weekend and she said she's going to make sure that I am much more aware of what's popular and what's not." She rolled her eyes at her words and he smiled at how the two girls had formed a friendship. When he had moved from Philly, he was young and never had any issues with making friends. He remembered Jared being so young and confused though that it had taken him a while to find people his age to hang around. Even if he still found a way to butt into everything in his life.
"Shopping huh? You want a ride, I can drive you two." He grinned at the thought knowing neither was old enough for their license and he had been dying to drive around somewhere other than to the market and back for Pops." She narrowed her eyes at him and he leaned across the table closer. "What, I can't be invited to your girls' day? That's quite rude Tem." He teased.
"Though I have never participated in a girls day, something tells me that you being a male does not correlate with the definition." He immediately turned red at her words and he groaned. The social skills would really need to be worked on though he sort of found it endearing that she said what was on her mind.
"Think about it, okay? Talk to the cheer nerd and maybe it'll be fun." He smiled a charming smile at her that seemed to inflict a response from her as she smiled back. Having a friend in Temperance Brennan was going to be one hell of a ride and he couldn't wait for it.
They lingered in town for a while longer before he walked her to her door to make sure the Mitchell's knew that he wanted her home safely. Heading to his own house he smiled as he walked in finding his Pops on the couch. "You're home early pops." He greeted as he sat down by him.
"I thought you might need some company but it seems a pretty girl beat me to it." He said smugly and he rolled his eyes at the remark. "I'm glad to see you found a way not to mope around today, Shrimp. I'm proud of you. Though you said you were staying home today so I was a bit surprised when I came home and found you gone. Thank goodness for the Mitchell's and Temperance for telling them you were leaving." He chastised.
Booth winced knowing he should have left a note that he was heading out. He had gotten caught up in talking with Tem that he had forgotten all about the day, as well as responsibilities. "I'm sorry Pops I should have left you a note when she went to tell them we were going for a walk. We were talking about… today and then her past and I guess I didn't feel crappy for once and it slipped my mind. I'm sorry." He murmured as he slouched on the couch feeling like a little boy in trouble.
His grandfather seemed surprised by his words and nudged him to sit back up and he sighed as he put his arms in his knees and looked at the floor. "You talked to her about today?" He asked and Booth just nodded. He hadn't exactly told her the details but he had never told anyone about where his parents are before. Well no one had asked really, or had been too scared probably.
They sat in silence for a whole before he looked over at his Pops. "Hey, Pops?" Booth finally said softly. "Thanks for everything you do for Jared and I. Tem has been in so many different homes and I just want you to know that I recognize how lucky we are to have you and what you did for us. Thanks." He could almost see his Pops tear up a little before he pulled him into a hug. He wanted more than anything for Tem to stay with the Mitchell's forever, she deserved happiness and he was going to make sure she received it.