Just rewatched the series and pulling out my copy of the journal to figure out some fun oddities to throw Lilo's way. Because I don't want to deal with the alien writing right now and get into hints of a multiverse? I'd just rather write a couple more fun chapters, like this fanfiction's The Golf War nestled snugly before a lore-bomb like Sock Opera.

Anyway, drop a review if you like this fanfic. I just want one, I'm sure you guys understand that feeling.

Lilo couldn't sleep that night. Her mind was a swirl of thoughts and emotions. There was homesickness, heartache, and confusion. Her mind was running at a thousand miles per hour. One second she was thinking about Marc and the feelings he drew out of her, the next second she was wondering about what the alien scrawl had meant, and then she was thinking about Kauai and what she missed the most about her island.

Her mind was so full she had to get up and walk. She grabbed her camera and beckoned a tired Stitch to follow her. But he was sleepy, so she went out alone.

It wasn't her best decision, nor her worst. Oregon was a lot different than Hawaii. Of course Kauai was overrun with aliens, but otherwise, it was a lot safer. Nani had let her wander the island on her own and swim in the ocean by herself when she was just a little kid. Now she was an adult, wandering around Oregon. She would have felt better with Stitch with her, but the solitude would give her some much needed time to think. Plus she had pepper spray, so she should be fine, right? She hadn't needed it on Kauai, but her family wasn't going to let her come to the states alone without it. Kobra had offered to show her how to operate a gun and sign up for a concealed carry license, but she'd stuck with the pepper spray.

Was that a mistake? Perhaps... But the night beckoned, and she felt ready to take on anything. Anything, except her emotions. Maybe the night air would do her good, and the shadows could be welcoming, instead of daunting.

She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets, well Marc's jacket pockets. She hadn't wanted to wear it, hadn't wanted to think about him at all, but it was chilly and mosquito-y and the jacket wasn't optional. So she shoved her hands in the pocket, jangled around the keychain with pepper spray, and tried to decide if it was all worth it. These feelings of confusion and inadequacy. The way goosebumps sprung up on her arm even though she was cloaked in his oversized jacket. It wasn't fair.

She wanted to call Nani, ask her for sisterly advice, but it would be 10 there since it was midnight here, and Nani would already be asleep, exhausted from her job, her kids, and her husband. Plus it would be weird. Lilo had gone to Nani for a lot of advice, but never romantic. She'd never felt this confused about anyone before, and maybe confusion was love. The way she'd seen it in David and Nani, patience and comfort was love. The word longsuffering popped into her mind. She slapped at a mosquito and tried to distract herself from the chaos in her head. She hadn't even brought her phone, so best not to think about it.

Best to focus on the chaos of nature. Best to take pictures of the chaos around her, because pictures were still. Pictures were safe. Once the chaos was captured by a picture it was contained and couldn't hurt anyone anymore. That's what pictures were for, to still the chaos, and hold on to the good. Her prized possessions were mostly photographs, and mostly photographs of the people she cared about. The people and aliens she cared about.

She took a picture of a tree, with flash on, scaring a few of the animals, squirrels, bunnies, a little tiny bearded man with a pointy hat... Well, Lilo had seen weirder things. The little bearded man hissed at her in anger and she stepped back in surprise, laughing a little and letting it take her mind off of Marcus. What else was out here? Marcus had said this place was dangerous, Wendy and several others had warned of the same thing. But she was willing to take her chance for a good photograph. So she pressed onwards.

At one point she saw a campfire glistening through the trees, which conjured memories of camping back in Kauai with Nani and David and Stitch. She wished Stitch had joined her for her adventure, but she didn't blame him for being sleepy. Her mind was just too full to consider sleeping right now. She tried not to think about the things she was trying not to think about, she tried to forge her own memories now instead of getting stuck in her Kauai memories, instead of getting stuck in the memory she'd shared with Marcus tonight. Maybe whoever was at the campfire would provide another distraction.

Or maybe the campfire would actually be a blazing campfire/spider hybrid that chased her until she finally evaded it. She was laughing as she ran, whether it was out of fear or exhilaration she didn't actually know. Adrenaline was fun like that. When she was finally free from the chase she leaned against a tree, laughing and catching her breath. This was a good distraction. She shivered, suddenly, not from the cold since running had taken care of that, she was shivering because she felt like she was being watched. She looked around, shooting with flash on to get a better light, but she couldn't see anyone. She felt like the stalker kept ducking out of sight every time she got anywhere close to him/her/it. Feeling disconcerted, she looked around one more time and realized she didn't know which direction home was anymore. She stepped forward and slipped down the side of a cliff, her ankle twisting the wrong way. Wincing and gasping in pain, she forced her way up and forward, no longer comfortable being out here alone.

She just had to find anything that looked like civilization. She just had to find anyone, or else she would be up all night wielding her only weapons, the flash of her camera and her pepper spray. After an excruciating half an hour of walking and wondering why she hadn't brought her phone, she heard a road, heard cars, and after a while longer she was able to get to the side of it, where she found a police car sitting at a speed trap, and knocked on the glass to wake the sleeping officers.

Though they initially tried to arrest her for disturbing their peace, she soon had a police escort back to the Corduroy home, where they made sure she got in okay. She had intended to just sleep on her swollen ankle until morning and deal with it then, but Sheriff Blubs blasted the siren when they pulled up, making Manly Dan charge out in anger.

"I didn't do anything wrong this time!" He yelled until he saw Lilo and gathered that she was the cause of the police visit.

"What happened?"

"I went for a walk and got spooked and twisted my ankle, I'm so sorry..."

"Let's get you inside then. You shouldn't wander around the woods alone, especially at night, alright?" He said this strictly, but fatherly. He cared about the people who lived in his house. They went inside and he sat her down at the kitchen table, getting her an icepack for her ankle and a cloth to wrap it in so it didn't freeze to her skin. Thanks to Sheriff Blubs everyone in the house was awake and had gathered in the kitchen. Wendy and Marcus both looked super concerned when they saw her, but both kept their mouths shut. Kevin and Gus couldn't seem to care less, they were just sleepy and annoyed.

"Wendy, it will be easier for Lilo if she doesn't have to commute between the house and the guest house so you're switching while she recovers."

"Sounds good."

"Everyone get back to bed, you all still have obligations in the morning." Lilo's face was red from embarrassment as the Corduroy's fussed over a little bit, insisting on moving her stuff into Wendy's room, including a still sleeping Stitch. She kept apologizing, kept avoiding eye contact with Marcus. Some distraction this was...

Hope you enjoyed an appearance from a Scampfire and the elusive Hide-Behind!