Courage



Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Higher Ground (though I wish I owned Scott). To be honest, I know everything from episode summaries. It is still one hour and twenty-six minutes right now until I see my first episode.



Chapter Two- Lost in the Woods



Scott walked into the main cabin not long after Ezra left the dorm. He was going to try and avoid one person, Juliette. Some how since their break-up, she acted as though it never happened, the break up not the relationship. Auggie told him he was running out of female companions between Juliette and Shelby. He felt two arms around his waist. " Hey there" she whispered in his ear, with her seductive tone. Apparently, he was the only one who's had ever heard it. " Hi". Juliette's hands moved further down his chest, closer and closer to the waistband of jeans. Luckily, he gained enough control to stop her. " I can't do this". " Come on Scott" she moaned, turning his body by the waist, now he had no choice but to face her. Though Juliette and Scott never were that close physically, she had push for it, never knowing it was a bad idea. No Cliffhanger knew. " It's been long enough, you know you want too". Shelby walked up from behind Scott, holding her breakfast tray. " Come on Jewels, you should understand what ' no' means, you must hear it a lot". It was expected for Juliette to start, but never when it came to Scott, or Shelby being on the receiving end. " It's alright to be jealous Merrick" with that, she walked away. " I don't know how to thank you". " Me, jealous" she muttered, then smiled at him, " some people don't know when it's over". That was all, which made up their conversations. They did not hate each other, but there were no attempts for a better friendship, it couldn't be done within two sentences. Shelby Merrick and Scott Barringer were, inside, more then friends, but they couldn't admit it to themselves. Yet.

Not long after lunch, Scott and Auggie were both in kitchen duty, wasting away the afternoon like they were use to. Scott was washing dishes, sleeves rolled up and soap suds all over his forearms, Auggie was trying what was passed onto him. " I thought you and Juliette broke up" he started the conversation as the wet dishes were being handed. " We did, well, I did" Scott sighed, " I told her thoroughly that we couldn't be.what we were. Unfortunately, she's not listening very well". " What were you?" he got a shrug in response, never wanting to know, " you didn't seem all that happy with her, I wouldn't blame you for ending it" he made a small pile of clean dishes on the counter next to him. " She wanted more then what was there". " What do you mean?". Scott looked over at him, which was enough. " Oh, okay, I got ya", he waited, " well, maybe if you talk to her about it, then she'd understand". " I can't even talk to my mom about it, my real mom, and she's a girl. If the whole point is to get Juliette to stay away, that isn't going to help". Scott threw down the dish rag, leaving the kitchen. He stepped out into the cool late afternoon air, the clouds blocked any warmth. Gray swirls moved across the sky in spontaneous patterns. Thousands of random thoughts ran through his mind while watching it. " There you are!". Scott sat up where Daisy was a foot in front of him. She looked relieved to see him, though had something on her mind. " I haven't been anywhere interesting". Usually Daisy would jump at sarcastic remarks, not this time, " Shelby is missing, and Peter wants us to try and find her before it gets too dark". It felt like something was ripped from outside, " what do you mean she's missing? I just saw her at lunch". " I know, she was talking with Kat, who mentioned something about her step dad and Sophie said she just ran off, that's all I know". Scott knew more about Shelby then she did of him. Talking about her step dad had to hurt, he had a similar conflict before coming to Horizon. It was that which got him running, away from Daisy and into the woods. Scott had no idea where he was going, he only knew that he was running, running to find Shelby. He thought someone would find her before he did, he didn't even think he was going the right way/ " Scott!" he heard the helpless cry not far behind him. Five feet back and ten or so to the left, there she was. Curled lying in the dead leaves, her blue and bloodshot eyes were easy to see against her pale skin and blonde hair that was pulled back. He ran over, dropping to his knees right next to her. Shelby did not look harmed, physically that is, though her stiff body was shivering. Scott gently lifted her body so she was sitting, " Shelby, what are you doing here?" he was almost crying himself. " Scott, Kat heard from Peter, my step dad's coming to visit, I-I" it was not possible for her to continue, the tears overwhelmed her. He pulled her closer, letting her cry onto his chest. He gently caressed her back, " I'm sorry Shelby" he repeated. Soon enough, her muscles eased and the tears stopped, Shelby was able to relax. Bending his neck, Scott saw that she had fallen asleep, but he did not want to move her. It was only another ten minutes until Peter and Ezra appeared. Scott looked at them, indicating that he was not going to disturb her. " Bring her back to the girls dorm". Carefully, he scooped Shelby into his arms, her head still on his shoulder, without waking. It was a long walk to the dorm, none of the girls were there when they arrived. After he laid her down onto her bed, Shelby would not let go of Scott's hand when he stood. " I love you Scott" she mumbled, taking him off guard.

So, he was not the only one who talked in his sleep.



- This one was longer then chapter one, but they will get longer. Sorry, I'm still trying to start off-