1.1.1 Chapter 2
Kristen had just finished her entry, which seemed to her to be the longest one she'd ever written. She had a feeling she would be writing more later on. David was getting to her, whether he knew it or not. She couldn't believe that in just a few short hours she was starting to like this guy. She looked around at the soon to be setting sun.
"Hey, um… Kristen, it's time for dinner." David said looking at her then at the lodge.
"Oh, okay." Kristen said and stood up, brushing off her pants. David had already started to walk away. "Wait up." Kristen shouted before she knew what she had said. David stopped and looked back at her, confused. Kristen ran up to him, "Why are you in a hurry?" she asked him as they started walking again.
"Dunno." David said looking around and walking a bit faster.
"Oh…" Kristen trailed and tried keeping pace with him. "Are you that eager to get dinner?" she asked and David slowed a bit.
"No." he replied stopping. Kristen stopped too and looked at him.
"Well?" she asked and David shrugged. "Okay… well I'm hungry so I'll see you inside or whenever." Kristen said and started to the lodge. David resisted the urge to stop her, he wanted to talk to her longer but decided now was not a good time. Besides, he barely knew her.
Inside, Kristen had gotten her food and taken a seat at the table she sat at for lunch. She still didn't feel like getting to know the other Cliffhangers. She didn't want Shelby to get pissed at her if she said "hello" to Scott just to be friendly. The brunette girl seemed a bit too happy for Kristen right now. So, she sat by herself, hoping David would walk in and eat with her. Right on cue, David entered. Kristen watched him but then quickly looked at her food when his eyes fell upon hers. Concentrating on eating, Kristen didn't notice, at first, when a tray landed in front of hers.
"Hi." David grumbled taking a bit of his food.
"Hi." Kristen replied looking at him for a second before taking another bite of her, supposed, macaroni and cheese.
"I don't know why I put up with this food." David said looking at a piece of macaroni drip off his fork. Kristen stifled a laugh.
"It's not that bad but I think it could use more of, well, everything." Kristen said as she took another bite.
"You're telling me." David said and took a gulp of his milk. "The only thing good about the food here is the chocolate milk." David said and smiled.
Kristen laughed, "The chocolate milk is good, I'll agree with that." Kristen said smiling back.
"What day is it today?" David asked dreading a group night.
"Um, Saturday." Kristen answered and David's face fell.
"Damnit… just had to be a freaking' Saturday." David cursed.
"What's wrong with Saturday? There's no school Saturday." Kristen said confused.
"Saturday is the last day of the week that we, the Cliffhangers, have group. Every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday, we have to express our feelings to everyone. It's such a joyous time." David said sardonically.
"Sounds like fun." Kristen said in the same tone.
"Oh, it is, it is. You'll have such a blast listening to silence for the first ten or, if you're lucky fifteen minutes. Then Peter is forced to pick something to talk about and it usually is something no one wants to talk about like, 'finish the sentence, I feel…' or if he's feeling really creative, 'why do you feel that way'." David said in a pretty good Peter imitation. Kristen burst out laughing. "Glad I amuse you." David coughed a laugh.
"Well, you're imitation of Peter, like the tone of voice, was just so close to his voice." Kristen smiled as she calmed down.
"I've had to hear it everyday for about two months now." David said shaking his head. "It gets pretty annoying, him always asking you what's wrong when you don't want to talk. And I bet he knows you don't want to talk and just asks to get you to talk or something." David concluded.
"Possibly." Kristen said not really sure how to take that. "Why don't you talk to him though? Sometimes it's easier to let out your thoughts then to hold them in." Kristen said and David nodded.
"I know but… never mind. Something's shouldn't be told… well yet anyways." David said picking at the so-called food.
"I don't mean to be like Peter here but, um, but what?" Kristen pushed and David sighed.
"But nothing. That's all." David said and got up, leaving Kristen perplexed.
David walked to the gazebo only to find a couple already occupying it. Since it was still dinnertime, most of the staff was in the lodge still eating or breaking up inevitable food fights.
"Well, well, well what do we have here?" David said snidely (A/N: I'm not sure if this is the right word to use… oh well…) Scott and Shelby abruptly broke up.
"What do you want?" Shelby snapped, angry that David had disturbed them.
"I don't want anything from you. You're used." David said giving her a face. Shelby glared at him while Scott reacted. David soon found himself pinned up against one of the gazebo's poles.
"Take that back jerk!" Scott yelled at David.
"And you'll do what Scotty? Huh? Like I said when I first came here, you can't mess with a mess, it's redundant." David said pushing Scott off him in one swift move. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go tell Peter what I've just witnessed. He would be very happy to know that some people can't keep their hormones in check." David smirked and jumped off the gazebo. Scott ran after him.
"No you won't!" Scott said and pushed David onto the ground.
"Scotty, Scotty, Scotty, you would tell if you saw me making out with a girl. Now I'm just doing what you would do." David said getting up off the ground, brushing off his shirt.
"Like you could find a girl who'd actually touch you." Shelby remarked from the gazebo.
"Oh, you so want me." David said in his usual tone. Shelby rolled her eyes. "You're silence is flattering." David smirked.
"Scott, just let him go tattle. He's just a rat, among other things." Shelby said and David glared at her.
"I'm not a tattler." David said defensively. "I'll just use this as blackmail." He added.
"But if you tell then you're a tattler, whether you tell now or later." Scott said and smiled triumphantly at David.
"Whatever." David backed off. "I'm gonna go." He said turning away from the two.
"You'll go right back to the gazebo." Peter said appearing out of nowhere.
"I don't think I can go to group tonight, I think I'm sick." David moaned.
"Sure you are. Go now, to the gazebo." Peter shooed at David who reluctantly did as he was told. "Good, Scott, go get the rest of the Cliffhangers, and don't forget about Kristen." Peter told Scott, who nodded and ran off to the lodge.
"Peter do we have to have a group tonight? I mean it is a Saturday." Shelby complained.
"Yup." Peter answered simply. Shelby groaned. She took a seat on the other side of the gazebo from David. Peter watched as everyone filed into the gazebo and took a seat not too far, but a far distance from David, except for Kristen who sat beside him.
"Why is the new girl sitting next to David? Doesn't she have any taste in guys?" Shelby whispered to Daisy.
"Shelby…" Daisy trailed.
"Oh, you're gonna defend him now?" Shelby asked, "You picked Ezra remember? Now if I pick on Freakin then you can say 'Shelby…'." Shelby said mimicking Daisy's voice.
"Fine." Daisy said and looked away from her friend and towards Peter's direction.
"Alright guys, I hope you've enjoyed your Saturday, up until this point at least." Peter started.
"We'd enjoy it more if you didn't hold group." Daisy put in.
"I'm sure you would." Peter said and gave Daisy a smile. "Anyways, we have a new member as you all know." Peter said and everyone nodded. "In case you don't know yet, her name is Kristen Austin." Peter said and everyone grumbled 'hello' to her. Kristen nodded. "So, I want you to each give her your name and a brief description of why you're here." Peter said, "Starting with David."
"Alright. I'm David Ruxton and I'm an alcoholic." David said smirking at Peter.
"Try again David." Peter said.
"You know what, for once, I don't think I will." David said looking at Peter's expression.
"David do you want kitchen duty for a month?" Peter asked.
"Bring on the dishes!" David said in a forced enthusiastic.
"Alright, dishes and wood for a month." Peter said serious.
"Cool, when do I start?" David asked testing Peter.
"Two." Peter stated and David looked around. Everyone was looking at him in pure shock. No one ever tested Peter this hard.
"How about two months and a day." David said cockily.
"How about three months and a meeting everyday after dinner with me." Peter shot sternly. David glared at him and Peter returned it. "It's your funeral David." He added.
"Fuck you." David backed down and walked off the gazebo. Kristen jumped up.
"Wait, Peter, he didn't mean it." Kristen said and everyone gawked at her.
"I did to mean it!" David shouted not wanting Kristen to defend him.
"David." Kristen said looking at him hurt.
"I meant it." David held a firm tone. "Night." David said and walked off to the dorms.
"Peter, he didn't mean it, please don't make him do all that work." Kristen said still trying to clear David's name.
"Sorry but it stays. He brought it upon himself." Peter said and dismissed group for the night. Kristen sighed and dragged her feet all the way to the dorm. She slipped into bed, after changing and brushing her teeth, and fell asleep. Eventually.
Three weeks had passed and David was working every second. He was allotted an hour for homework and no one was suppose to talk to him. Roger made sure of it.
"No, I can't allow you to distract him. He needs to finish his work and then chop wood." Roger told Kristen for the fifth time. She mumbled 'fine' and walked off discouraged. She and David had talked, but it was always short-lived. Even though they were short, they were deep.
After Roger told David his studying time was up, David walked slowly to the wood shed. Kristen, having seen him leave the picnic table, followed David. David and put on a red pair of gloves and picked up the ax.
"Hey." Kristen said giving David an encouraging smile.
"Hi." David said and his face lightened.
"So, how's the work going?" Kristen asked leaning against a wall of the woodshed.
"Fine, I've worked harder. As you know, my dad is a general." David said and Kristen nodded understand. David had opened up a bit to her.
"I wish you didn't have to work all the time." Kristen said looking down at the ground.
"Why?" David asked looking at her as he set down the ax.
"I like our talks." Kristen said giving him an unsure look.
"Well, I like them too." David admitted looking away from her. He saw Peter walking with Sophie into the administration building.
"So why not ask Peter to be a bit more lenient on you." Kristen suggested.
"Sorry, but I wanna stick to this, prove to him that I'm not easily broken." David said picking up the ax and setting a log on it. He swung the ax and chopped the wood in two. "Hey, I'm getting better at this." David smiled and threw the two pieces into a developing pile.
"Well, I believe that you're not easily broken… but I also believe that this punishment is a bit harsh." Kristen said softly.
"That's Peter for you, harsh city." David said setting another log on the block and cutting it, this time getting halfway threw. "Damn." He cursed.
"Could you please stop chopping for a second?" Kristen said agitated.
"Huh?" David asked surprised by her small outburst.
"I want to talk to you and all you can do is talk about cutting the wood." Kristen said a mad look on her face.
"Sorry." David said and set down the ax again. "Alright, I'm all ears." He smiled and walked over to her.
Kristen smiled, "Thank you." She said and gave him a small seductive look. David caught this.
"Ooh, I don't think you want to talk." He said and smiled.
"Maybe I do or maybe I don't." Kristen said looking from the ground to David.
"I'll take that as a no." David said and leaned down to Kristen. Their lips met and Kristen slowly brought her hand up to David's cheek. After a few seconds, David pulled back.
"What?" Kristen whispered still keeping David's face close.
"Um, I think you should go." David said backing up from her.
"What? Why?" Kristen asked confused.
"I-I have to get back t-to work. Please." David said turning his back on her.
"Fine." Kristen said and walked off, hurt. David sighed and picked the ax up again. He didn't know why he just did that. It wasn't the fact that she wasn't a bad kisser, just something that happened to him in his past. Something he didn't want to tell anyone, and was forced not to tell, not even Kristen would know. David chopped a log into and sat down slowly, resting his elbows on his knees and holding back tears.
A/N: Okay, so I didn't get five reviews. Oh well, all the people that read and didn't review, shame on you! J/K Anyways, I hope this isn't too short for you guys, and I hope I'm getting a clearer image of where this is going to end up. So just this time read and review, 5 would be a joy! ;) (
Kristen had just finished her entry, which seemed to her to be the longest one she'd ever written. She had a feeling she would be writing more later on. David was getting to her, whether he knew it or not. She couldn't believe that in just a few short hours she was starting to like this guy. She looked around at the soon to be setting sun.
"Hey, um… Kristen, it's time for dinner." David said looking at her then at the lodge.
"Oh, okay." Kristen said and stood up, brushing off her pants. David had already started to walk away. "Wait up." Kristen shouted before she knew what she had said. David stopped and looked back at her, confused. Kristen ran up to him, "Why are you in a hurry?" she asked him as they started walking again.
"Dunno." David said looking around and walking a bit faster.
"Oh…" Kristen trailed and tried keeping pace with him. "Are you that eager to get dinner?" she asked and David slowed a bit.
"No." he replied stopping. Kristen stopped too and looked at him.
"Well?" she asked and David shrugged. "Okay… well I'm hungry so I'll see you inside or whenever." Kristen said and started to the lodge. David resisted the urge to stop her, he wanted to talk to her longer but decided now was not a good time. Besides, he barely knew her.
Inside, Kristen had gotten her food and taken a seat at the table she sat at for lunch. She still didn't feel like getting to know the other Cliffhangers. She didn't want Shelby to get pissed at her if she said "hello" to Scott just to be friendly. The brunette girl seemed a bit too happy for Kristen right now. So, she sat by herself, hoping David would walk in and eat with her. Right on cue, David entered. Kristen watched him but then quickly looked at her food when his eyes fell upon hers. Concentrating on eating, Kristen didn't notice, at first, when a tray landed in front of hers.
"Hi." David grumbled taking a bit of his food.
"Hi." Kristen replied looking at him for a second before taking another bite of her, supposed, macaroni and cheese.
"I don't know why I put up with this food." David said looking at a piece of macaroni drip off his fork. Kristen stifled a laugh.
"It's not that bad but I think it could use more of, well, everything." Kristen said as she took another bite.
"You're telling me." David said and took a gulp of his milk. "The only thing good about the food here is the chocolate milk." David said and smiled.
Kristen laughed, "The chocolate milk is good, I'll agree with that." Kristen said smiling back.
"What day is it today?" David asked dreading a group night.
"Um, Saturday." Kristen answered and David's face fell.
"Damnit… just had to be a freaking' Saturday." David cursed.
"What's wrong with Saturday? There's no school Saturday." Kristen said confused.
"Saturday is the last day of the week that we, the Cliffhangers, have group. Every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday, we have to express our feelings to everyone. It's such a joyous time." David said sardonically.
"Sounds like fun." Kristen said in the same tone.
"Oh, it is, it is. You'll have such a blast listening to silence for the first ten or, if you're lucky fifteen minutes. Then Peter is forced to pick something to talk about and it usually is something no one wants to talk about like, 'finish the sentence, I feel…' or if he's feeling really creative, 'why do you feel that way'." David said in a pretty good Peter imitation. Kristen burst out laughing. "Glad I amuse you." David coughed a laugh.
"Well, you're imitation of Peter, like the tone of voice, was just so close to his voice." Kristen smiled as she calmed down.
"I've had to hear it everyday for about two months now." David said shaking his head. "It gets pretty annoying, him always asking you what's wrong when you don't want to talk. And I bet he knows you don't want to talk and just asks to get you to talk or something." David concluded.
"Possibly." Kristen said not really sure how to take that. "Why don't you talk to him though? Sometimes it's easier to let out your thoughts then to hold them in." Kristen said and David nodded.
"I know but… never mind. Something's shouldn't be told… well yet anyways." David said picking at the so-called food.
"I don't mean to be like Peter here but, um, but what?" Kristen pushed and David sighed.
"But nothing. That's all." David said and got up, leaving Kristen perplexed.
David walked to the gazebo only to find a couple already occupying it. Since it was still dinnertime, most of the staff was in the lodge still eating or breaking up inevitable food fights.
"Well, well, well what do we have here?" David said snidely (A/N: I'm not sure if this is the right word to use… oh well…) Scott and Shelby abruptly broke up.
"What do you want?" Shelby snapped, angry that David had disturbed them.
"I don't want anything from you. You're used." David said giving her a face. Shelby glared at him while Scott reacted. David soon found himself pinned up against one of the gazebo's poles.
"Take that back jerk!" Scott yelled at David.
"And you'll do what Scotty? Huh? Like I said when I first came here, you can't mess with a mess, it's redundant." David said pushing Scott off him in one swift move. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go tell Peter what I've just witnessed. He would be very happy to know that some people can't keep their hormones in check." David smirked and jumped off the gazebo. Scott ran after him.
"No you won't!" Scott said and pushed David onto the ground.
"Scotty, Scotty, Scotty, you would tell if you saw me making out with a girl. Now I'm just doing what you would do." David said getting up off the ground, brushing off his shirt.
"Like you could find a girl who'd actually touch you." Shelby remarked from the gazebo.
"Oh, you so want me." David said in his usual tone. Shelby rolled her eyes. "You're silence is flattering." David smirked.
"Scott, just let him go tattle. He's just a rat, among other things." Shelby said and David glared at her.
"I'm not a tattler." David said defensively. "I'll just use this as blackmail." He added.
"But if you tell then you're a tattler, whether you tell now or later." Scott said and smiled triumphantly at David.
"Whatever." David backed off. "I'm gonna go." He said turning away from the two.
"You'll go right back to the gazebo." Peter said appearing out of nowhere.
"I don't think I can go to group tonight, I think I'm sick." David moaned.
"Sure you are. Go now, to the gazebo." Peter shooed at David who reluctantly did as he was told. "Good, Scott, go get the rest of the Cliffhangers, and don't forget about Kristen." Peter told Scott, who nodded and ran off to the lodge.
"Peter do we have to have a group tonight? I mean it is a Saturday." Shelby complained.
"Yup." Peter answered simply. Shelby groaned. She took a seat on the other side of the gazebo from David. Peter watched as everyone filed into the gazebo and took a seat not too far, but a far distance from David, except for Kristen who sat beside him.
"Why is the new girl sitting next to David? Doesn't she have any taste in guys?" Shelby whispered to Daisy.
"Shelby…" Daisy trailed.
"Oh, you're gonna defend him now?" Shelby asked, "You picked Ezra remember? Now if I pick on Freakin then you can say 'Shelby…'." Shelby said mimicking Daisy's voice.
"Fine." Daisy said and looked away from her friend and towards Peter's direction.
"Alright guys, I hope you've enjoyed your Saturday, up until this point at least." Peter started.
"We'd enjoy it more if you didn't hold group." Daisy put in.
"I'm sure you would." Peter said and gave Daisy a smile. "Anyways, we have a new member as you all know." Peter said and everyone nodded. "In case you don't know yet, her name is Kristen Austin." Peter said and everyone grumbled 'hello' to her. Kristen nodded. "So, I want you to each give her your name and a brief description of why you're here." Peter said, "Starting with David."
"Alright. I'm David Ruxton and I'm an alcoholic." David said smirking at Peter.
"Try again David." Peter said.
"You know what, for once, I don't think I will." David said looking at Peter's expression.
"David do you want kitchen duty for a month?" Peter asked.
"Bring on the dishes!" David said in a forced enthusiastic.
"Alright, dishes and wood for a month." Peter said serious.
"Cool, when do I start?" David asked testing Peter.
"Two." Peter stated and David looked around. Everyone was looking at him in pure shock. No one ever tested Peter this hard.
"How about two months and a day." David said cockily.
"How about three months and a meeting everyday after dinner with me." Peter shot sternly. David glared at him and Peter returned it. "It's your funeral David." He added.
"Fuck you." David backed down and walked off the gazebo. Kristen jumped up.
"Wait, Peter, he didn't mean it." Kristen said and everyone gawked at her.
"I did to mean it!" David shouted not wanting Kristen to defend him.
"David." Kristen said looking at him hurt.
"I meant it." David held a firm tone. "Night." David said and walked off to the dorms.
"Peter, he didn't mean it, please don't make him do all that work." Kristen said still trying to clear David's name.
"Sorry but it stays. He brought it upon himself." Peter said and dismissed group for the night. Kristen sighed and dragged her feet all the way to the dorm. She slipped into bed, after changing and brushing her teeth, and fell asleep. Eventually.
Three weeks had passed and David was working every second. He was allotted an hour for homework and no one was suppose to talk to him. Roger made sure of it.
"No, I can't allow you to distract him. He needs to finish his work and then chop wood." Roger told Kristen for the fifth time. She mumbled 'fine' and walked off discouraged. She and David had talked, but it was always short-lived. Even though they were short, they were deep.
After Roger told David his studying time was up, David walked slowly to the wood shed. Kristen, having seen him leave the picnic table, followed David. David and put on a red pair of gloves and picked up the ax.
"Hey." Kristen said giving David an encouraging smile.
"Hi." David said and his face lightened.
"So, how's the work going?" Kristen asked leaning against a wall of the woodshed.
"Fine, I've worked harder. As you know, my dad is a general." David said and Kristen nodded understand. David had opened up a bit to her.
"I wish you didn't have to work all the time." Kristen said looking down at the ground.
"Why?" David asked looking at her as he set down the ax.
"I like our talks." Kristen said giving him an unsure look.
"Well, I like them too." David admitted looking away from her. He saw Peter walking with Sophie into the administration building.
"So why not ask Peter to be a bit more lenient on you." Kristen suggested.
"Sorry, but I wanna stick to this, prove to him that I'm not easily broken." David said picking up the ax and setting a log on it. He swung the ax and chopped the wood in two. "Hey, I'm getting better at this." David smiled and threw the two pieces into a developing pile.
"Well, I believe that you're not easily broken… but I also believe that this punishment is a bit harsh." Kristen said softly.
"That's Peter for you, harsh city." David said setting another log on the block and cutting it, this time getting halfway threw. "Damn." He cursed.
"Could you please stop chopping for a second?" Kristen said agitated.
"Huh?" David asked surprised by her small outburst.
"I want to talk to you and all you can do is talk about cutting the wood." Kristen said a mad look on her face.
"Sorry." David said and set down the ax again. "Alright, I'm all ears." He smiled and walked over to her.
Kristen smiled, "Thank you." She said and gave him a small seductive look. David caught this.
"Ooh, I don't think you want to talk." He said and smiled.
"Maybe I do or maybe I don't." Kristen said looking from the ground to David.
"I'll take that as a no." David said and leaned down to Kristen. Their lips met and Kristen slowly brought her hand up to David's cheek. After a few seconds, David pulled back.
"What?" Kristen whispered still keeping David's face close.
"Um, I think you should go." David said backing up from her.
"What? Why?" Kristen asked confused.
"I-I have to get back t-to work. Please." David said turning his back on her.
"Fine." Kristen said and walked off, hurt. David sighed and picked the ax up again. He didn't know why he just did that. It wasn't the fact that she wasn't a bad kisser, just something that happened to him in his past. Something he didn't want to tell anyone, and was forced not to tell, not even Kristen would know. David chopped a log into and sat down slowly, resting his elbows on his knees and holding back tears.
A/N: Okay, so I didn't get five reviews. Oh well, all the people that read and didn't review, shame on you! J/K Anyways, I hope this isn't too short for you guys, and I hope I'm getting a clearer image of where this is going to end up. So just this time read and review, 5 would be a joy! ;) (