Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters for Higher Ground and I don't do this to make $$$. Do I gotta do one of these thing every chapter? Oh well. Enjoy!
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Scott and Shelby Unlimited Ch 5
Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced that we are loved.
-Victor Hugo
Scott and Shelby's hike
"Scott, this isn't fair. If you really care about me, you're not going to force me to talk before I'm ready." Shelby said and balled her hands into fists. He looked at her for a minute and then decided she was right.
"Okay." He finally said. "But promise me one thing?"
" Uh, what?" she said starting to get aggravated.
"Promise me that we'll talk before we get back to Horizon." She hesitated.
"Okay. I promise."
"Good, then let's get going. We have a long day ahead of us." He said and began to walk, pulling Shelby along with him.
They hiked for about two hours down the mountain, and Scott acted like he knew exactly where they were at all times, even though Shelby knew he was just acting like a big shot, and he really didn't have a clue either.
"Let's rest, Scott, please!" Shelby panted. He nodded, dropped his bag to the ground and sat down. She did the same, except she sat on her bag. He gulped water out of his water bottle and then sat with his hands on his knees. The tension was building between them. The silence was deafening. No birds chirped, no animals made noises in the brush. There was a slight breeze. Shelby's voice cut through the silence like a knife. "What do you want me to talk about?" she said after taking a deep breath. Scott looked up, his blonde hair tousled with a few pieces hanging down over his forehead.
Um....us." he said quietly. She reached up, swiped hair out of her face and then leaned forward.
"What about us? I mean, we were doing just fine until last night, weren't we? At least I thought we were." She said
"I thought so too." He looked through the trees and squinted as the sun shone in his eyes. "But....I guess there's a lot of stuff you're keeping from me."
"I'M KEEPING FROM YOU?! What? What do I have to tell you everything, Scott?"
"No, but, Shel, you can tell me anything. I'll understand anything you tell me. I promise." She rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Don't get all love sing songy on me, Scott."
"Well, someone needs to be. Shelby, has anyone, ever, in your whole life, gotten sing songy on you." He asked.
"Well, no. Not until I met you at least." She confessed.
"It's just that I want you to be able to tell me anything and KNOW that I'll be here for you."
"Right." She said and leaned back. "Like you were here for me when I told you about my past before I got here to Horizon? Like that, Scott? I've seen how you're there people and I'm not sure I want to be your next victim again."
"I was being a jerk back then, Shel. I thought we had gotten past that."
"Maybe you have." She said quietly. He looked down. "But that hurt me. You have no idea how much. I want to tell you everything, Scott, I do, but I just don't know if I'm ready to be rejected by you again. There's nothing much I left out when I told you about my stepfather, but you obviously want to know everything about me, and I'm not ready to tell you right now."
"Is that what you think? That I'm going to reject you?"
"I don't know what to think anymore. You, Scott, are so unpredictable. I never know what you're going to do, what you are going to say...and that scares me."
"Hmmm I always thought being unpredictable was a good thing."
"I thought it was too. But I feel like an emotional roller coaster every time I need to tell you something. I never know if you are going to welcome it with open arms, or push it away, and get mad at me because of it. I'm not a mind reader, Scott. I shouldn't have to tiptoe around you because I'm afraid you'll get mad."
"I know. You're right." He said nodding
"To tell you the truth.....you're the first person that I actually cared if I made them mad. And I don't wanna lose that with you." They sat silently for a few minutes. "I need to be alone right now. To think." She said finally.
"Well, that's gonna be kinda tough." He laughed and pointed down at the twine that connected them.
"So! We'll untie it. Peter never said we had to have it on through the whole hike...he just said we needed to be connected when we got back."
"Well, I guess we've got him on a technicality. I like the way your mind works." Scott said
"Thank you. Thank you very much!" she laughed. She bent down and yanked off her part of the twine and stood. She got into her backpack and pulled out her journal. I guess this would be a good time to start those three journal entries Peter wants, right?" No response from Scott. "Okay, well, I think I hear water over there." She said motioning with her hand to the right, "I'm gonna go kick it over there."
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At Horizon
Daisy couldn't wait for Scott and Shelby to come back home tomorrow. She couldn't wait to see Scott's reaction to her letter. She knew he would love it. Once he opened his journal he would see it, and he would love it. She just knew he would! But she wasn't exactly looking forward to the hostility that Shelby was going to have towards her and every other girl in the Cliffhanger group until she found out who was moving in on her Scott. Daisy would reveal herself to Scott eventually, and then she's be the center of Shelby's wrath, but getting Scott would be totally worth it.
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Shelby
Shelby made her way towards the sound of the water. She finally reached it. It was a river. She had always loved the sound of rushing water. Back home she used to go to the river near her house and just sit for hours and hours thinking. She had nothing to think about really until all the horrible things started happening to her. Then she had plenty to think about. She used to plan her escapes down by the river, she used to feel sorry for herself there. She did everything there. She used to wash herself in the river, too. She knew it was a waste because every time, she knew she was never gonna get clean. The things she did...........even she didn't understand them. How could he? She sat down by the water and breathed deeply. Then she opened up her journal and began to write:
Here I am on this dumb hike you sent me on. I guess this is supposed to have a lesson, so I'll just go along with it. Since you left us out here for the mountain lions, Scott and I have been able to share words without arguing over everything. He wants to know more about me than I'm ready to tell him and that upsets him, because I guess he's told me everything about himself. I wish I could tell him everything, but last time I told him something about my past, he pushed me away. I know you tell me he was scared, and he wasn't ready to hear what I had to say, but why does he ask then? I wish I could trust him with everything, but something deep down inside keeps telling me that I can't. Someone help me please. Tell me what to do. I feel so alone. I just want someone to hold me, and tell me that they love me. That would be a first.
9/15/2000. –Shelby Merrick
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Scott
Scott watched Shelby leave and sighed in disappointment. He had really hoped he could get Shelby to open up to him, but that would take a lot of work. Just like it had taken a lot of work to get her to tell him that her stepfather had been abusing her. And to tell about the rest of her past. And what had he done? Blown her off and acted like a jerk. He could see why she would be apprehensive to tell him anything more about her past, given the incidents they had had before. He grabbed his journal out of his backpack and opened it. He began writing:
Okay, I'm going to start my journals right now, peter. There's something you can be proud of me for, if not the reason we are on this demented hike in the first place. You wanna know how i feel right now? Why don't I tell you. I feel shut out. Shut out of Shelby's life, and shut out of my own life. Is that possible? To be shut out of your own life? Well, that's how i feel. Shelby doesn't seem to want to tell me anything. All i want to do is understand her. But i get the feeling she doesn't want to tell me anything about herself that I don't already know. How am i supposed to grow closer to her if she won't let me? 9/15/2000 Scott Barringer
When Scott finished writing his first journal entry he shut the journal. He saw a rock on the ground that was kind of in the shape of a heart. He leaned down to pick it up and his journal fell to the ground with a soft thump. A folded paper peeked out of the corner. Scott forgot about the rock and grabbed the paper and unfolded it. What he saw made his mind spin with confusion. And maybe a splash of flattery........
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hey guys! I hope it's getting suspenseful for ya! I want lottttttsssssss of reviews!!! I love reading them. You guys crack me up in some of them. Well, hope you're enjoying the story so far. And I'll try to post this thing right now, but the last few times I've been to the site something weird has been going on. It's like a blank screen or something. Hopefully they get their act together really soon. Well, tell me whatcha think of my story! BYE! ~3~ Bee