AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delay in getting this part up. I was hoping to have it finished before school started, but I missed that deadline. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the finale, and I hope that you will stick around and see what happens to the Cliffhangers in my next fan-fic. I want to take a moment to thank those of you that hung in there throughout this whole process and took the time to leave my your kind reviews. They helped keep me motivated and not so afraid to post.
When Peter and Sophie arrived in the lodge some time later, everyone was present and accounted for and all at opposite ends of the lodge. "Well, at least we aren't yelling at each other again." There was a slight pause before he continued. "Are we ready to go?"
"Why do I have to go? None of this is my fault!" Juliet whined again.
"Shut up princess," Shelby yelled at her. "You are as much at fault as anyone else here."
"And just how do you figure that?"
"If you and Auggie hadn't been so wrapped up in yourselves and your relationship you wouldn't have felt the need to sneak off during Jeff's hike and you would have been grateful to me for allowing you to miss out on a hike. You wouldn't have cared that you missed."
"Excuse me!?!" Peter asked from the back of the room. "Juliet, is there something you or Auggie wants to tell me?" He said glancing first from Juliet and then to Auggie and then back to Juliet again.
"Thanks a lot Shelby!" Juliet said.
"Let's not be blaming Shelby for this. It was you and Auggie who were going to disobey the rules."
"Yeah, but she didn't have to nark on us like that."
"Stop passing the blame Juliet. We will discuss the issue of you and Auggie breaking the rules when we get back. We need to get going now while we still have some light left."
As everyone was picking up their packs, Auggie walked over to Juliet and asked her why Shelby would even know about their plans. "Because Auggie, I thought for once she would be human and stop sulking around if she knew someone had plans. She knows…"
"God Jules. When are you going to learn that Shelby isn't human. She cares nothing about anything. How could you be so stupid?"
"Don't call me stupid."
"That's enough you two. Now let's get going."
"You know if you had just been adult enough to deal with Scott and your feeling we wouldn't be in this position right now," Juliet said to Shelby as they were heading out of the lodge.
"I don't remember asking what you thought," Shelby said as she picked up her pace to get away from Juliet.
"God Shel, Do you have to be such a bitch to everyone?" Auggie asked, coming to Juliet's defense.
"I don't need you to defend me to her. I can stand up for myself."
"Fine, Jules. I was only trying to help."
"I don't need you help," she said before walking away from him and leaving him to bring up the rear all by himself.
After a long hike, they finally arrived at the campground just as the sun was drifting down behind the mountains. Peter informed everyone that if they did not work quickly to set up their tents and find wood for the fire, they would be forced to attempt to set up the tents in the dark and it would be a cold night.
"So Peter, are you ever going to tell us what we are doing in the middle of nowhere this late at night?"
"Learning to get along Auggie. I'm tired of the bickering and the name-calling and the fighting and it has got to stop. Now I suggest that you guys think about getting to bed soon. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." With that he and Sophie headed off to their respective tents to get some sleep.
"And just what do you expect us to do out here oh fearless leader?" Daisy asked in a tone that was more mocking then inquisitive and temporarily stopped Peter in his tracks.
"Sleep," he said before disappearing completely.
About three in the morning, movement outside his tent awakened Ezra. Slipping on his shoes and jacket, he grabbed his flashlight and headed out to see what was going on. Glancing around, he was about ready to chalk the noises up to his imagination when he saw a figure sitting against a log in the dark next to where the fire used to be. As he got closer, he realized that the dark figure was Shelby.
"Hey Shel, what are you doing out here?" he whispered.
After a quick wipe of her face to remove and tears that might have stained her cheeks, she looked up and said, "contemplating my life's existence and it's a one man job. What are you doing out here?"
"I heard noises and thought I would come check things out."
"You have. I'm here. I'm fine. Now why don't you go away before I feel compelled to kill you."
"Why do I feel as though that is a promise you would have no trouble keeping," he said as he sat down next to her. "why are you crying?"
She wiped the tears again before muttering, "of all people to see me like this, it had to be you."
"You still love him, don't you Shel?"
"What?" she asked getting defensive?
"Scott. You still love him, don't you?"
"What do you think?"
"I think that if his returning is causing you this much pain then maybe the two of you need to be apart right now."
"How could you possibly know what I need or how I feel?"
"Yeah, you're right. How could I possibly know anything about pain and how hard it is to let people go. The pain of knowing that even thought the two of you are probably meant for each other, that doesn't necessarily mean that you are right for each other right now, but you're right. I know nothing about loving someone so much that you want to scream or hit something," he paused for a moment and looked over at her, "or sit alone in the dark and cry."
"Who could you possibly love so much that it hurts?"
A simple raise of his eyebrows and a nod in the direction just across from where they were sitting gave Shelby all she needed to know. "You and Daisy?" she asked trying to contain her laughter.
"Yeah, why is that so hard to believe?"
"For starters, she dumped you for David."
She didn't dump me." He said getting all defensive. "Technically we were never really together, but she'll be back."
"You really do care about her don't you?" Shelby asked now feeling a bit more sympathetic towards Ezra.
"More then I think she could ever imagine."
"Does she know how you feel?"
"I tried to tell her once, and she probably told you how that one went, but I think she thinks I want her now only because David does. The truth is I never wanted to let her go. I wanted to run after her the day she told me we could only be friends. I wanted to run after her and stop time and make her realize how right we were for each other. I didn't want to let her walk away from me, but I had to Shel. I had to let her find her way back to me on her own. One day we will find our way back to each other, and so will you and Scott."
"I had no idea you had such deep feeling for her."
"Yeah, well, no one else knows so please don't advertise this latest piece of information."
"Your secret is safe with me."
"As is yours with me," he said before reaching out and putting his arm around her shoulders.
They sat together silently looking up at the stars before Ezra suggested that they should get to bed. "Who knows what Peter and Sophie have in store for us tomorrow, but we will probably need to be well rested. It's probably going to be a long day."
"Yeah, I guess your right."
Ezra then got up before offering a hand to Shelby and pulled her up off the ground.
"Hey Ezra."
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Thanks," she said before disappearing into her tent. Her thanks came as a surprise to him and cause a quick smile to creep across his tent. She really is human sometimes, he thought to himself before heading into his own tent.
Peter was up before the sun getting everything ready for the day ahead. When he was done packing up his tent he went in to gently wake up Sophie. "Time to wake up sleepy head." He said as he shook her shoulder.
"What time is it?"
"Quarter after six. Now come on. Get up."
"What's going on? Are the kids OK?"
"Yeah, they are still asleep, but we need to get going. I'll explain it all later." The two quickly packed up Sophie's tent and all her belongings before they headed out of earshot in the woods. They weren't ready to wake anyone up just yet and Peter was afraid that they might wake up while he was discussing his plan with Sophie.
"Do you think they can really make it back on their own?" Sophie asked once she heard Peter's plan.
"I have no idea. We will find out soon enough, but that's why I want you to shadow them back. Make sure they don't get too lost, but at the same time, don't interfere unless there is threat of bloodshed. They need to discover the wonders of teamwork." Peter said leaning in to give her a kiss good-bye. "I'm sorry I can't stay with you, but we have that new student coming in today and someone needs to be there to check her in."
"Don't worry about us Peter. We'll make it back alive. At least most of us will anyway," She said with a smirk on her face.
"See ya when you get back." He said waving good-bye to her as he headed back to Horizon.
Sophie sat off in the distance for awhile cursing Peter for picking such a cold morning to do this until she started to hear commotion coming from the camp.
"Anyone know where Peter and Sophie went?"
"They are probably still sleeping Freakin now would you please be quiet so that the rest of us can as well." Shelby hollered from inside her tent sounding more and more like her old self.
"Then how come their tents are gone?" he asked bringing everyone out of his or her tents.
"They really are gone," Juliet said when she got out of her tent and looked in the direction of where they were last night.
"I told you they were gone. Didn't you believe me?"
"Why would they leave us out here?" Juliet asked.
In the distance Scott is walking towards a brown box that is sitting in the middle of the campground but has been overlooked because of the disappearance of Sophie and Peter. As he got closer he noticed an envelope sitting on top which he picked up and opened. "Hey…listen to this." He said trying to get the attention of everyone.
"Listen to what?"
"Shhh," he said while signaling with his finger for everyone to be quiet. "Dear Cliffhangers. It has become painfully obvious in the last few days that not one of you knows the meaning of teamwork. As a result, this group has turned on one another making it impossible for anything to get accomplished. As you have now discovered, Sophie and I are gone and in order for you to make it back to Horizon, you will need to work together. We look forward to seeing you when you make it back, and hopefully by that time, you will have worked out the majority of your problems with each other."
"I can't believe they would leave us out here all alone,' Juliet whined again.
"Chill Jules. We'll get back." Auggie said.
After he finished the letter, Scott started to go through the box when he discovered a map, a compass, food and water. "Listen up guys," Scott said again, this time with a more authoritative tone, taking control of the incident. "I want everyone packed up and ready to move out in an hour. We have a long hike back. Was anyone paying attention on the way up here last night?"
"Certainly not the princess. She was too busy whining to pay attention," David said.
"That's what I was afraid of," Scott said before picking up the map to study it.
"I wasn't whining."
"I didn't say you were," Scott said, not even looking up from the map. "Anyone have a clue what direction Horizon is?"
"So, who put you in charge of getting us back, anyway?" Shelby asked smugly.
"If you want to take over, by all means, go right ahead, but I would like to get back to campus sometime this week."
"Are you saying that you are the only one who could lead us back?" Auggie questioned getting defensive.
"No, that's not what I said and you know it. All I said was I wanted to make it back to campus before dark and that's not going to happen if we sit around here and complain all day about who wants to take charge."
"I can't believe they left us out here," Juliet said yet again.
"Stop whining Queenie. They're probably just hiding in the woods somewhere. They would never leave us out here completely alone for fear of what we might do," Shelby said matter of factly.
As if on cue, Sophie entered the campground and set her backpack down on the ground in the middle of all the Cliffhangers before reaching into it and pulling something out. "I need for all of you to come here," she said still hiding what she took out of her bag. When they had all come close, she revealed the handcuffs that Peter had left her with.
"What going on Sophie? I thought you and Peter were gone." Scott said.
"Just following orders, now Scott, Shelby, come here."
"You're not going to handcuff me to him, are you?" Shelby questioned while still walking towards Sophie.
"Do you want to explain to Peter why you didn't follow orders and participate?"
"Not particularly."
"Good." Sophie said while placing Scott's left wrist inside one end of the handcuff and Shelby's right one in the other. She then continued with Juliet, Auggie, David, Ezra and Daisy until they were all handcuffed together. As she was cuffing them all together, she tried to explain what was expected of them.
When she was finished, David asked "how do you expect us to pack up all the tents and pick up our packs and carry all this stuff out of here if we are all stuck together?"
"I suggest you guys start working together. The only way you even stand a chance of making it is if you start to work as a single unit rather then the seven individuals you have been lately." She picked up her bag, gave the group a quick wave good-bye and started to head off towards the woods again before turning back to the group one last time and said, "if I may, I'd like to offer you guys one piece of advice."
"What?" David asked.
"Remember that you are a team, and therefore only as strong as your weakest link." She said before she was gone for good.
"Well that would be a toss-up between Juliet and Ezra," David said getting a reaction out of everyone.
Everyone spent the next few moments standing around hoping Sophie would come back and let them out of this mess, but when she didn't come back, Shelby said, "Great! Now what?"
"We head back to Horizon." Scott said.
In their haste to get back to their stuff and pack up, everyone went in their own direction and were quickly pulled back to where they just were and landed in a hump on the ground. In their efforts to get up quickly, nobody could successfully make it to their feet because they continued to get pulled down by the rest of the group.
"Maybe we need to regroup here," Daisy said, tired of being pulled down. "How about if Scott and I get up first and we can work our way to the center, helping everyone up." With each one having one free hand, it was decided that Daisy's plan was a good one and the two succeeded in getting everyone up quickly.
After a few hours of arguing and bickering and very little teamwork, the Cliffhangers finally managed to get the tents taken down and packed up. If they continue at this pace they are going to need to set those tents back up, Sophie thought. From where she was sitting, it looked as though Scott had taken the leadership role and was directing everyone else on how to pack things up. He then took the map out of his pocket and began to study it. He had been in this take-charge mode since he found out that they would have to hike back on their own. This was something she was impressed with, but at the same time, knew that if this didn't stop soon, everyone would start to regret and rebel. He needed to include them in the decisions that were effecting them and stop isolating people, but then out of the blue she heard him ask which direction they thought they should head in and a small smile crept across her face because it was like he was able to hear her thoughts.
"Must…stop…and…rest…now," Juliet panted after they had been moving for well over an hour. As she stopped for a moment to try and catch her breath, they all agreed now would be a good time to take a break and look at the map again amongst other things. Before she could even ask, Auggie reached into her backpack and retrieved her water bottle for her.
"Here," he said unscrewing the top, "drink this."
"Thank you," she said in a tone that revealed that she was still made at him.
"Jules?" Auggie asked.
"What?" she responded.
"Why you gotta go and be all mad at me still?" Auggie asked when she refused to look at him or talk to him after thanking him for her water. She would have asked someone else to put it away for her, but with Shelby on her other side, it was like choosing the lesser of two evils. After he put it back in her backpack, she turned to him and said, "because Augusto, you were mean to me. You called me stupid." She said standing up for herself. He knew from past experiences that when she called him Augusto that she was being serious and was mad at him.
"I'm sorry Jules. I really am. It was just said in the heat of the moment. I was mad that our plans were ruined and then I was really mad when Shelby went and told on us anyway and I took it out on the wrong person. I should have taken my anger out on the people responsible," he said glaring at Scott and Shelby.
As Auggie began to get up and head towards Scott, Juliet grabbed him by the arm and forced him to sit down again. "Don't start again Auggie. Just let it go."
Everyone continued to sit in silence for awhile until Shelby got the courage to ask Scott the one thing that had been on her mind since the minute she heard he was coming back, but was never able to ask him. Without making eye contact with him, she quietly asked, "why did you come back?"
"I came back because I love you."
"I thought you came back the first time because you love me, but you didn't. I know that I'm not the reason you came back because you wouldn't stay for me." She said before going back into silent mode.
After awhile of the silence, Scott couldn't take it anymore. "OK, I get it. You're not happy to see me, but how long do you plan on staying mad at me?" Scott found himself asking before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth.
Everyone then turned his or her attention towards the subject of the next question. "You're serious aren't you?" Shelby asked.
"Yeah, Shelby. I am serious. People come and go from here all the time. Heck, even you left. Why are you having such a hard time accepting the fact that I came back?"
"OK, fine Scott. I was happy the first time you came back. I thought you came back for good because we meant something to each other, but then you turn around and leave again. Why should I bother to get excited to see you again when you are just going to pack up and leave again whenever you feel like it. You are not worth the emotional roller coaster."
Scott sat there stunned for a few moments. He was finally realizing where her hurt and anger were coming from, especially when he put himself in her place. How would he have felt if he was in her position, but that still could not stop him from voicing his next thought, "You mean WERE not worth it. You and me Shelby. What you are saying is that were not worth fighting for in your eyes."
"Yeah, I guess that's what I'm saying Scott. We're not worth it."
"You can't mean that Shelby. I know that night after the morp meant something to you because it meant something to me. It was special."
"God, you are so dense, aren't you? That night could have meant the world to me and that's why it hurt so much that you left the next day. That just proves that that night meant nothing to you." Shelby then sat there silently for a moment trying to collect her thoughts. She knew that she and Scott were eventually going to have this conversation they just did, but she never expected it would happen in front of everyone. After a few minutes she calmly looked at Scott and asked, "why did you really come back." She could tell that he had been hiding something from her and she needed to know exactly what it was. If nothing else, maybe it could help her move past these feeling she was still having for him. While it might hurt, she thought she could get over him if she heard he had another girlfriend and he turned towards drugs again.
"Truth?"
"That would be nice for once."
"Truth is, things weren't the same when I got back home. I expected to go back and play football, to be the star again, get recruited to play college ball and everything would be like it was before I left. I went to the first practice to find out that I was no longer a starter. I had been replaced. Coach said something about needing someone reliable to win the Conference Championship, so I quit and that brought out my dad's true side again."
"What do you mean again?"
"I mean, when I walked out of here the first time, he said he blamed me for what happened with Elaine. He said it was all my fault. I let it go that night because I really wanted to play ball again and to be normal for once. I lost any respect for my father that day, but I needed to play football. So, you see, while I really wanted to come back to be with you, I needed to give things with my dad a try. I'm glad I did because now I know that this is where I belong. I belong here with you. I needed my reason for coming back to be more about me then you for things to work out with us." Shelby just sat there, refusing to make eye contact with him. She was torn about whether to be happy about him coming back or hurt. "It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make Shelby, you've got to know that." He said kneeling in front of her and trying to look her in the eye. "I wish I had never had to choose between you and my dad, but I needed to give it a try. Leaving after the prom was the hardest thing, but coming back to you was the easiest ever. I was and still am so lost without you Shelby. I need you." She just sat there coldly starring past him. He just poured his heart out to her and it was like she had no reaction to it. It was almost as though she felt nothing.
Getting up, she quickly wiped away the tears that were about to stream down her face and said, "we should probably start back again."
"But Shelby…" Scott called, but knew that continuing this conversation was a lost cause.
The rest of the hike back was done with very little conversation with the exception of checking the map and making sure everyone agreed on the next choice of direction.
Peter was waiting outside the lodge, sitting on the steps when the cliffhangers finally emerged from the woods. They all looked tired and hungry and dirty, but they all made it back safely. Sophie was not far behind them, and when they reached the tables out front, they all sat down while Sophie fished around in her backpack for the keys.
"I have never been so happy to see this place," Juliet said.
"Tell me about it. I would take chopping wood any day to this new form of punishment you guys have come up with." David commented.
"That can be arranged," Peter said with a smile. He was glad to see that they could still joke around a bit and make light of the situation.
"Thanks, but no thanks." David said before realizing that it was time for him to be quiet before he ended up on wood-chopping duty just because Peter felt like it.
While Sophie was uncuffing everyone, Peter said, "I want you guys to get cleaned up and then head to the cafeteria and find something to eat. Juliet, Auggie, I would like to talk to you in my office before you leave." They picked up their stuff and followed Peter to his office where they took seats in the chairs across from his desk. They were well aware of what was about to go down, but were hoping he would just forget. "There is the little issue of the two of you planning on sneaking off that we need to discuss."
"Don't you mean the issue of punishment," Juliet said sarcastically.
"If you want to get technical, that's correct Juliet. Now would either one of you like to plead your case before sentencing begins?" Peter asked, acting very much like a judge.
They looked at each other before looking back at Peter and shaking their heads. They both knew there was nothing they could say to get them out of trouble. "Well then, Juliet, for the next two weeks I expect the bathrooms to shine because you will have bathroom duty."
"OK," she said without an ounce of enthusiasm.
"I'm not done yet. On top of that, you will get up and join the group that has morning kitchens and you will be in your room two hours before lights out." When Peter handed down the stiff punishment to Juliet, Auggie knew that he was really upset and that he would take no mercy out on him either. "Auggie,"
"Yeah," Auggie said with fear in his voice.
"Windows. You will be washing every single one on this campus for the next two weeks as well as making sure every piece of trash is picked up off this campus. On top of that you are also to be in your room two hours before lights out. Understood?"
"Yeah," they both said in unison.
"Good, now get out of here and get cleaned up."
As they walked out of Peter's office, Auggie offered Juliet a bit of encouragement by letting her know that the two weeks would go by really quickly. As they walked by the picnic area, everyone except Sophie, was still hanging around waiting for them to return from Peter's office. They filled them in on their punishment as everyone headed off towards the dorms to get cleaned up, but Shelby stayed behind and just sat at the picnic tables alone. Scott turned back as he was leaving and decided to go over and talk to her. Maybe if it were just the two of them, she would talk to him. "Mind if I sit down?" he asked.
She just shrugged her shoulders so he took it upon himself to read that as he could sit down if he wanted. "There is something that I have been wondering ever since I left?"
"What's that?" She asked sounded as though she was really tired of talking about this subject.
"Why didn't you ask me to stay?"
She paused for a moment before asking, "would it have made a difference?"
Her irritated tone made him regret asking and prompted him to say, "guess we'll never know," before getting up and walking away from her. Shelby sat there watching him, hoping that he would come back, or at least turn around and glance back at her, but he never did.
"So, how did things go out there Soph?" Peter asked once she showed up at his office. She was giving him time to talk to Juliet and Auggie, but when she saw them walk out, she made a beeline to his office to discuss the day.
"Much better then expected if you ask me. It appears as though they have made great headway in overcoming a lot of the obstacles that have laid in front of them for the past few days," she said as they made their way over to the couch so that they could sit down and cuddle.
"Really?" he asked, partly surprised and partly pleased.
"Yeah. Auggie and Juliet worked through their differences however brief they existed and Scott decided to explain why he came back and I think that was an important thing to come from the day. I think that they can now move past the fact that he is here."
"Scott told them why he came back?" Peter asked, shocked.
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"I just am. I thought it would take longer, that's all. So, what did he say exactly?"
"Jut something about football not being what he expected, and how his dad didn't forgive him after all. It was really sad actually."
"Hum."
"Hum what? Is there something you're not telling me Peter?"
"Let's just say there is more to this return then what was said today," he said before going deep in thought. He made a mental note that he would have to find Scott and find out what was going on with him. From what Sophie had just said, Peter assumed that Scott told them the whole truth, but rather it sounded like he was telling them what he thought they wanted to hear, or maybe what he really wanted to say. It's a tough lesson to teach and one even harder to learn, but the only way he can begin to start healing is to be honest with himself. "I've been meaning to ask you, did any interesting info come of those essays you assigned the other day?"
"Actually yeah. I'm surprised at how seriously they all seemed to have taken them. Most of the time I get a bunch of joke papers and they have to rewrite them, but that doesn't appear to be the case this time around, unless they all got really clever and wrote papers that sounded real, but were completely made up."
"Not something I would put past this group."
"Me neither, but I think these were real, and that's what scares me."
"Scares you? Just who and what are we talking about?"
"There were a few, but mainly Ezra's scared me and for that reason I tend to believe that it was a serious thing."
"Just what did he say Soph?"
"That he is afraid that no matter what they say and what we tell him, he was the cause of his parents divorce. Deep down, he thinks they were fine until he came along."
"And I thought he was moving past that."
"Me too."
"Just out of curiosity, what did everyone else have to say?"
"Juliet is afraid that her mother's high expectations have caused her to raise her own and thus making her unable to survive on her own once she leaves here. It broke my heart when I read that. When is she going to realize just how strong she is?"
"I don't know, but we will have to work on that with her."
"Daisy's was surprisingly enough, death."
"You mean she's afraid of dying? I guess that would explain all the jokes about it. Eventually we are going to break through that defense mechanism though, even if it kills us. Anything else of interest?"
"The other two that stood out in my mind were Shelby and Auggie. I was surprised at how candid and honest they were, especially Shelby. She thinks that it is all her fault what happened to Jess. And on top of that, she thinks that she led Jess down the same road and she won't be able to forgive herself if anything happens to her. Auggie on the other hand is afraid of what is going to happen to him once he leaves. Essentially, that nothing he has learned here and no matter how much he has changed, none of it is going to matter when he gets home, because he can't go home."
"Can't go home? I wonder what he meant by that?"
"Just that he is afraid that his brother and former friends might drag him back into the world he left behind or make him pay for walking away from his 'family.'"
"That's going to be a tough one to work through, but I don't think his parents will allow him to go down that road again, and I would hope that by the time he graduates from here he will be strong enough to deal with that on his own. Anyway, since we went through just about everyone, why don't you fill me in on the remaining two. What about Scott and David?"
"Your guess is as good as mine there?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that neither one turned in a paper. I just chalked Scott's up to him not knowing, but David needs to step it up a bit."
"Scott knew about the paper. I told him, but I'll talk to him and make sure he gets it to you soon. David on the other hand has no excuse. I guess it's a good thing he loves to chop wood huh?" They just sat there for a few moments in each other's arms before Peter said, "before I forget, I'm going to assign the new girl to your group."
"OK great. We could use some fresh blood around here. Who is she, and better yet, where is she?"
"Her name is Carrie and she is currently in the infirmary working her way through detox. She came in so high this morning that she needed restraints and the doctors gave her something to try and get her to calm down. I will understand if you would rather I not put her in your group though. She appears to have a lot going on."
"I'm up for the challenge. When can we expect her?"
"Not for a few days. Doctors want to keep her under observation for awhile. What do you say we head home?"
"Sounds good, besides, we've got some redecorating we need to do."
"Redecorating?"
"Yeah, if I'm moving in, we need to make the place feel a little more feminine and we need to make room for my stuff."
Peter flashed her a quick smile before pulling her close to give her a kiss. For him, it now felt like they were getting married. Like they were truly a couple.
"Hey, how you doing?" Daisy asked, joining Shelby at the picnic table outside in the common area where she had been sitting since Scott left, what seemed like hours ago.
"Do you really care?"
"Wouldn't have asked if I didn't care Shel."
"Caring about me certainly hasn't been a priority for you lately, so why are you going to start now?"
"I'm here now. Why can't that be enough?"
"Because when I needed you the most, you turned your back on me. One of the hardest times in my life and you were with Juliet."
"I'm sorry Shelby. I really am, but I tried to be there for you. Tried to make sure you were OK, but you kept shutting me out. Every time I would reach out to you, you pulled farther away. I felt helpless."
"But Juliet?"
"Come on, she's not that bad."
"It's Juliet…"
"Anyway, who else was I supposed to go to? I was hurt that you wouldn't talk to me."
"But I wasn't talking to anyone."
"Even when you don't talk to anyone, you still talk to me."
"You never answered my question, why did you start to care now?"
"Well, I have always like you better then Juliet. Besides, she's probably going to be on toilets the rest of her stay here for that stunt she and Auggie were going to pull." Daisy said as she gave Shelby a quick smile and playfully hit up against Shelby's arm with her own.
"Oh, I get it. This is just a pity make-up then?" Shelby said with a smile.
"I do nothing out of pity."
"Except maybe talk to Juliet."
Both of them smiled at that comment and Shelby even gave a quick laugh, something daisy hadn't heard in quite some time. Having talked to Shelby made Daisy feel so much better. For the past few days she was at a loss of what to do to help Shelby and she was lost without her. Daisy then put her arm around Shelby. It was all she could do to comfort her friend. Shelby eventually rested her head on Daisy's shoulder and Daisy then rested her head on Shelby's. While Daisy was still confused about how Shelby felt, none of that mattered any more. Nothing from the past few days mattered.
THE END