Disclaimer: yawn Man that took a lot of energy outta me! Oh well…this chapter is going to be extra fluffed up….because people want fluff…uurggg…ok I just want to write now bye bye! It's also gonna be super long…

Chapter 14: That puts a damper on things!

Caveman shook Terry's shoulder.

"Come on! Get up! The wake up call was 20 minutes ago!"

"Ooooh…" She groaned. Why did it have to be so early?

"Come on Lazer, get up before Mr. Sir finds out you're still asleep!"

"I'm getting up…jeez…" She shoved him away in the stomach. Wearily, she dragged herself out of bed. Caveman ran out of the tent. She had it all to herself now. Quickly changing into a clean tank top and shorts, Terry could hear the truck revving its engine already.

"Yikes!" She grabbed her jumpsuit and ran outside. They were leaving! She snatched a shovel from someone standing around, and sprinted after the D-Tent.

"Wait for me! Wait for MEEEEEE!" She yelled. Her voice was hoarse, and wasn't very loud. She tried to put on her jumpsuit, but only got it on halfway. That would have to do. She didn't bother to button up the front.

"Wait for…meee…" She was still running after them. They were a good hundred yards away. When she finally caught up, she was too tired to walk, so she collapsed on the ground, getting left behind again. Her shovel landed with a 'THONK' on top of her head. Yowch!

"Did you sleep in?" Laughed Zigzag. He ran back to her and pulled her up.

"Yeah…" She was still panting. Zigzag put his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her to her feet. Squid looked back, and pretty much gritted his teeth. What was he doing? Terry's jumpsuit was pulled down to her waist. Zigzag had his arm around her…and worst of all, she was clinging on to him.

'That #! is trying to make a move on her! Well not if I have anything to say about it!' He shot Zigzag an 'I saw her first' kind of glance, and then ran back beside him.

"Hay, Squid. Miss Lazer here slept in a bit."

"Hey, Zig…" He said between very clenched teeth. He stuck his foot out and tripped Zigzag, bringing both him and Terry down.

"Oh, are you two okay?" Squid said, wanting to step on Zigzag. He helped Terry up, and left the other boy on the ground.

"Yeah," She coughed.

"I can take over from here." The two walked away, leaving Zigzag on the ground, confused and hurt.

"Why did he pull down your jumpsuit?" Asked Squid suspiciously.

"He didn't. I was trying to put it on while catching up to you guys, and didn't finish."

Squid gulped. Zigzag was going to be mad at him for tripping him…

Terry finished buttoning up her suit, and said:

"You can let go of me now."

When they reached the site, Squid had isolated Terry from Zigzag. If he so much as tried to talk to her, he would step in and brush him off.

"Hey Lazer, can I borrow your gloves for a while?" Asked Armpit, standing beside her hole.

"Ye-

"No. She needs them. Right Lazer?"

"Uhh…"

"See? Now get going."

Terry was now getting rather irritated with this. Now it wasn't only to Zigzag, it was to everyone else, too.

"You can stop being so protective, Squid!" She said angrily after Armpit left.

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are! Armpit is our friend, you didn't have to be rude like that!"

"It was obvious he was trying to hit on you."

"No he wasn't! He just wanted to borrow my gloves,And why would you care anyways!"

There was silence from the next hole over.

"…I don't know."

She suddenly wasn't so angry.

'He really cares about me… In an odd, overprotective kinda way…'

A few minutes later, Mr. Sir called them for lunch. Terry eagerly got out and ran to the truck. She was famished! All she had eaten over the past few days was a piece of bread, and a forkful of eggs, and an apple. Squid's apple.

"I think it's time you ought to be moved up in the line!" Said X-Ray. He grabbed her hand and put her in front of Magnet and Zero. Magnet rolled his eyes and kicked some dirt. Zero didn't care anyways. Lunch was balognae, cheese, and graham crackers. The boys made their way over to X-Ray's hole to eat lunch. Just to see what Squid would do, Terry sat right beside Zigzag, in between him and X-Ray. Squid balled up his fists and sat on the other side of Zigzag. Terry eagerly gobbled up her crackers and balognae. The rest of the boys came and sat around in a circle, dangling their legs down.

"So you're finally eating, Lazer!" Exclaimed Zigzag.

"Yeah, so?"

"I was worried you would waste away." He laughed.

"You were worried?" Terry luaghed. She had known that Zigzag liked her for a while.

"Heh…yeah." He smiled. She snuggled closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't have to look at Squid to know he was fuming.

'Oh, he is SO jealous!'

"Yesterday, I saw a nest of rattlesnakes in a hole closer to camp." Said Armpit.

"I think I saw that nest too!" Exclaimed Magnet.

"What other kind of snakes live out here?" Asked Terry.

"Mostly rattlers. But there's the occasional sand snake." Said X-Ray.

"My cousin had a pet boa constrictor once," Said Magnet.

"What happened to it?" Asked Zigzag, contentedly.

"It ran away. He never saw it again."

Most of the boys laughed, except Squid, who had his eyed fixed on Zigzag's hand. (Which was progressing to Terry's butt.) Terry laughed and suddenly felt something on her. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled up.

She grabbed his hand, and shoved it in his lap, standing up.

"Keep your hands away from my ASS!" She spat, and stormed back to her hole. She jumped in, and nibbled her cheese in peace.

'I'm never going to try that again.'

Once she finished she decided to dig her hole. After a while lunch was over and Squid came back. He said nothing and just started to dig.

'Did I make him mad?' She worried. Maybe flirting with Zigzag to make Squid envious wasn't such a great idea.

Over the next few hours, it was all she could think about.

"Finally! Done!"

She hopped out of her hole, and watched as Squid still dug.

'Better leave him alone.'

Walking back to the Camp, she felt an arm around her shoulder. It was Zigzag.

'Ugh.'

"Sorry 'bout that. I just couldn't help myself, yer so beautiful."

"Thanks, but…"

"Yeah. So you want to sit beside me again for supper?"

"Umm…" He squeezed her harder.

"Wow, you're so embarrased you're speechless! Don't worry. I feel the same way about you." He stopped, and with the grip he had on her she had no choice but to stop as well. He turned and faced her.

"I'll see you at supper, my pretty." He winked at her, and jogged off.

'What have I gotten myself into?' She slumped miserably and shuffled slowly back to camp.

'I hope Squid didn't see that.'

Back in his hole. Squid was shocked.

'And to think that he was my friend!' He plunged his shovel in the ground. He was done. Climbing out of his hole, he noticed Terry walking very slowly. He ran to catch up, dragging his shovel behind him.

"What did he say to you?"

"He wants to sit beside me at dinner tonight!" She said, grimacing.

"What, don't you want to?"

"NO!"

"Oh…" A wave of relief swept through his body. Maybe Zig liked her, but at least she didn't like him back. "Well, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. I don't want to hurt his feelings…"

"Just tell him you don't want to sit beside him."

"Wow, that helps." She said, rolling her eyes. "Some how he got the impression I like him back. If I try to talk to him alone he'll think—

"Don't worry. If you need help, I'll come with you."

"Thanks Squid! She said, giving him a hug and running off. He was very surprised at this gesture, and blushed.

'When was the last time someone gave me a hug?' His mom had only hugged him when he was a little kid. No one gave hugs here….It sure felt nice.

Time skip

After digging, most of the boys were in the reck room. Zigzag came back to the tent to get something, but little did he know that Terry and Alan stealithly followed behind. They crept around the corner of the tent.

"I think I can handle this on my own." Terry said, looking into Squid's eyes.

"Right," He said, with a twinge of dissapointment. She got up and walked into the tent. From inside it, he heard:

"Hi Zigzag."

"Hey Lazer, just grabbing my poker chips here."

"Listen, I have to talk to you."

"Yeah, about what?"

"You know how you…er…asked if I wanted to sit beside you at dinner?"

"Yeah."

"Well…I don't really want to. I'm Sorry."

"But I thought you-

"I don't like you the way you like me. You're my friend and all, but…"

"So why did you get so cozy out at the dig site then?"

"I…uh…" She hesitated. She knew Squid was right outside, listening.

"You…what?"

Squid leaned closer to the tent, curious as to why she paused.

"I…wanted…to make…someone jealous…" She said, as quiet as possible. But he heard, and knew instantly.

'She wanted to make me jealous?'

"Oh, well in that case..." (that was zigzag)

"So you're not mad?" Asked Terry.

"No."

"Sorry…. I'm still your friend, that won't change."

Squid saw Zigzag emerge from the tent. Squid shot around the side again to avoid being seen.

'That was close…'

He watched the boy trudge down the path. At least he didn't look too sad…

Then Terry came out, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I hope he didn't take that too hard…" She said to Squid.

"Well, by the sounds of it, he did."

"You heard the conversation?" She said, sitting down beside him on the dirt.

"Yeah…"

Terry blushed, and turned her head. The supper bell rang loudly just then.

"I'm not really in the mood for supper," She said.

"But you've hardly eaten at all these past few days!"

"Yeah, well I haven't been hungry these past few days."

"I'll bring you something back in case you change your mind." He said, getting up. She was about to say he didn't have to, but thought better of it.

"Cya. I'll just be in the tent."

"Yep."

The girl slowly walked into the tent, and plopped down on her bed.

'So…tired…' She instantly fell asleep.

Minor Time skip

When she woke up, the boys had come back from supper, and were playing cards on X-Ray's bed.

"Hey, She lives!" Laughed Armpit. Terry smiled and scratched her head.

"Are you hungry, Lazer?" Asked Squid.

"Yes." She lied, she actually wasn't hungry at all, but she didn't want to be rude.

"Good. I saved you some meatloaf from supper." Groan… She hated meatloaf. He walked over and handed her a Styrofoam container.

"Thanks," She said, but wanted to gag. Walking outside with the container and a plastic fork in hand, she stuck it into the brown stuff and ate a forkful. Hey this stuff isn't so bad! In fact, it was pretty good. The girl searched for a spot to sit down and eat. She plopped down in front of a pole.

'Mmmm…this is actually very tasty!'

After finishing her meal, she noticed there was a sunset far out on the horizon. It was the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. Gold and yellow clouds bordered the horizon, with mauve wisps here and there. There was a bright red puff just above the sun. It all blended together, like a fruit salad. It looked like it was meant to be on a postcard or a painting, not in real life. That's how pretty it was. Terry walked over behind the rows of tents to get a better view.

She watched it for a while.

There were now shades of purple and blue and green in it. It was breathtaking, how could such beauty be in such a desolate place? It truly was a wonder of nature. She didn't know how long she was sitting there, alone, watching the sun sink down. She heard footsteps coming from behind, but ignored them.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Said Squid's voice behind her. "Reminds me of the ocean."

"Me too." She said, her eyes fixed on the dimming light. He came and sat beside her.

"The sunsets here are pretty cool." He said, the colors reflecting in his dark eyes. Terry licked her lips and spoke.

"When I first came here I thought it was going to be horrible. You know, being the only girl in a camp full of juvenile delinquent boys…but now I realize it's not so bad, because I have friends here." She grinned. Her hair was hiding most of her face, but Squid could still see her eyes. They were shining like a way he had never seen before.

"Terry, why did they send you here in the first place?" He asked, with calmness in his voice.

She hesitated for a second, then replied.

"The judge thought I was a boy, my name and all…"

"That's weird. Couldn't he tell by looking at you?"

"No. He was asleep half the time." She laughed, and so did Squid. She was gazing at the sunset still.

"Yeah, that sure is pretty all right." She said, with a sigh.

"Not pretty as you." She turned and faced him. He was smiling at her. She smiled back, and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Alan, thanks for bringing me the meatloaf. It was delicious."

"You're welcome Terry."

'My love.'

"You never told me how you came here," Said Terry quietly.

"I killed someone." Came the prompt reply. "I just got fed up with the guy. He always bugged me at school. And he gave me this." Squid pushed back some of his bangs. Terry could see a faint white line run from his temple to the top of his eyebrow.

"How did you get that?" She asked, running her pinky along it.

"He hit me over the head with a beer bottle one day after school. It broke and cut me…"

"I feel sorry for you."

"You should feel more sorry for Hedgehog. He died today in the hospital. (His voice wobbled a bit)Mr. Sir told us at dinner." Sniff. Terry watched the mountains engulf the little red ball called the sun. The whole camp darkened.

A cold tear rolled down both of their cheeks.

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