Once Shelby left Peter's office and hit the front lawn, she began to run towards the woods. She ran so fast and so hard that she thought her legs were going to collapse from the pain, but that didn't stop her. She needed to get away and be alone. When she could run no further, she sat down against a tree and the tears just started to pour out. What would things be like when she finally saw him again, she thought? Could they possibly go back to the way they were before he left? No! How on earth could things go back to the way they were? Too much had changed. The night of the morp changed everything. It had changed who they were. She was up at the old abandoned cabin when Scott walked in and she went up to him and gave him the most passionate kiss she had ever given a guy and pulled him in the general direction of the bed.
"What are we doing?" he asked.
"Shhhh," she whispered, putting her finger up to his lips.
When they made it over to the bed, Shelby laid down first before pulling Scott on top of her where they continued to kiss for a few more minutes.
"Shelby. We can't do this." Scott said pulling himself away from her.
"Do what?"
"This…we can't do this. We can't make a stupid mistake and let things go too far."
"Whoever said this was a mistake. I know I certainly didn't." She said starting to get upset with him for running the mood. More then anything, Shelby was upset because for the first time in her life she was offering herself to a man she loved with all of her heart and here she was being turned down. Rejected. A feeling Shelby certainly was not familiar with.
"I can't do this. Not here. Not now."
"You mean not with me, don't you? You still can't accept me and who I am and what my past was, can you?"
"It's not that Shelby. It's not you at all. It's me. It's all about me."
"That Elaine thing still has you all messed up in the head, doesn't it?"
"Yes, no. It's not that really. It's just that, well, I am, um," he stuttered a few times before just saying it. "I'm still going home Shel."
"What?" she asked unable to control her emotions?
"Home. I'm still planning on going home tomorrow."
"Why did you come back then?" she could not help but asking. She had to know why exactly he came back tonight.
"Because I love you and I thought you should have the opportunity to go to a prom and I thought we should have one last night together that was special and meaningful to both of us."
"You are so unbelievable," she said hysterically.
"Would you have rather that I didn't come back?"
"That's just it Scott. You're not back. You're just visiting." She said now sitting on the edge of the bed crying.
"I'm sorry Shel, but I need to give things a chance with my dad. I owe it to him and I owe it to myself to know if we can work things out or know if Elaine was just the catalyst in a really bad relationship." He said now sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulders.
"I know, but I need you here with me. How am I supposed to survive here without you?"
"You're going to be fine. You are such a fighter that you don't need me for anything."
"That's where you are wrong Scott. I need you for more then you will ever know." She said as she put her head on his shoulder and they just sat there quietly for awhile.
After awhile Scott looked down at his watch and realized just how late it had gotten. "We should probably start heading back. If Peter and Sophie do a bed check and we aren't there, you are going to be in so much trouble and I'll probably never get to leave this place."
"And that would be so bad because…" she asked knowing that he was really going to leave tomorrow whether she liked it or not and any amount of punishment would not matter because she has absolutely nothing to look forward to anymore.
"Let's not go there again Shel. Please."
As they walked out of the cabin, neither said a word. What was there left to say? After a few steps, Scott reached down and gently placed his hand in Shelby's and entertwined their fingers. They both walked back to the dorms like that silently. Once they arrived, they both went their separate ways with just a look that said it all. They were going to miss each other more then the other would ever know. As they continued towards their respective dorms, their fingers slowly separated.
Just the thought of seeing Scott again stirred up emotions in Shelby that she just wasn't ready to deal with yet. Surely Scott would expect them to go back to being a couple that is unless he already had a girlfriend. That was something else Shelby wasn't ready to deal with.
"Shelby! Shelby! Are you out here?"
"Son of a, " she said looking up to see Juliet coming in her direction. "What are you doing here?"
"We were in the lodge when I saw you run by and then when Peter came in and asked if anyone had seen you…" she said before being cut off.
"You didn't tell him you saw me did you?"
"Do you see him here?" Juliet asked getting a bit annoyed at Shelby's comments. "So, what are you doing out here? Did you get in big trouble with Peter? Is that why you weren't in group? Is that why you ran?"
"Chill Princess. I don't have to tell you anything. I came out here to be alone. Get it?"
"So, what did Peter want to talk to you about?"
"None of your business."
"Wait a minute," Juliet said getting excited. "There is only one thing, rather one person capable of making you act like this. It's Scott isn't it? Did he call to break up with you?"
"There was no relationship to break up." Shelby said without looking up.
"So it was Scott. I knew it."
"Good-bye Juliet." Shelby said with a tone that said it all and Jules knew not to push her. Shelby usually called her names, but this time she referred to her by her real name.
"Fine. I can take a hint. Besides, I'm not going to get in trouble because of you. You're aren't worth a month on shunts." She said before getting up and leaving Shelby alone in the woods.