The next morning, Manuel woke up to the sun blazing in from the window, hitting him square in the face. He looked over to the bedside table, over which the clock read 8 o'clock. He rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying unsuccessfully to jumpstart his brain from its slumber. After a few tries, he decided a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, and lay back on the pillow, looking up at the bottom of the top bunk.
He'd had the most unusual dream, he thought. He remembered something about a rowboat, and somehow Hope had been involved. It felt like a distant memory now, the contents of their conversation blurry and faded, though something kept nagging at him. Had it really been a dream?
The memory of a flowery scent made its way to the front of his subconscious, bringing back more details of the night before. The starry sky, the ripples in the water, Hope's bright smile right after he'd…
Manuel shot straight up in his bed, hitting his head against one of the bars of the top bunk.
"Ouch," he yelped, rubbing his forehead. A loud snore to his left reminded him he was not alone.
AJ was fast asleep on the other bunk bed, on the other side of the room. Manuel and AJ had shared a room for as long as he could remember. Now, his mouth hung half open and a sliver of drool dripped down to the sheets as he slept soundly. In the interest of not waking him up, Manuel donned his jeans and boots, tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind him.
When he turned around, his heart almost jumped from his chest, and it was everything he could do to stop himself from screaming. Hope was standing in front of him, fidgeting with her hands nervously, as though expecting something.
"Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack," Manuel said, catching his breath. "What are you doing here?"
Hope pursed her lips and gave the boy a half-smile. "Morning," she said. "I was hoping we could talk, and I know you usually wake up early to read."
"Yeah, that," Manuel stammered, trying to sound convincing. "Right, I guess we can talk before that, sure."
The two teenagers nodded slightly and began walking down the hallway. There was so much Manuel wanted to say right now, yet the words would not come. It was strange, he thought, to be left speechless by the very person who could get him to talk about anything in the world. They walked through the door that led to the courtyard into the chilly morning.
Outside, the world appeared to be still. The only people Manuel could see were Roy and Paul on the watchtower, both of whom waved and went back to their business. He led Hope to one of the tables and sat opposite her.
"So…" he said, unsure of himself.
"So," Hope said, with a little more confidence. "Last night was fun."
"It was," Manuel said. "So what happens next? Are we like boyfriend and girlfriend now?"
Hope shrugged, leaning forward on the table and using her elbows for balance. "Is that what you want?"
"I think it is. I never considered the possibility that this would end in anything other than you killing me."
"Are you really that scared of me?" Hope said, chuckling.
Manuel trembled dramatically. "Terrified."
She leaned in again and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "Good. So I guess that means we're a couple now."
"Sounds good," Manuel said awkwardly, grinning.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking anywhere but at each other. The trees beyond the walls of the school swayed with a gentle breeze, making the birds on the tops leave the relative safety of their nests. Manuel thought about the night before, how the moonlight had shone above them, illuminating Hope's eyes as bright as stars.
"There's the happy couple!" Louis's voice rang through the courtyard, bringing Manuel back to reality. Louis and Clementine were making their way to the pair of teenagers. Clem gave Manuel a half-smile and then turned to her daughter and winked.
"Um, hey dad," Hope said, raising an eyebrow. "Hi, mom."
"Hi, sweetie," Clem said, adjusting her hat on her head. Manuel had often stared at it in awe, wondering how many crazy adventures that hat had been through, and how it had survived for as long as it had.
"We were just in the neighborhood and thought we'd drop by," Louis said as he and his wife sat on each side of the table, Clem beside Manuel and Louis beside his daughter.
Louis leaned forward on the table, much like Hope did when she was interested in the matter at hand. Manuel took note of that. "We didn't catch you last night after dinner," said Louis.
"Yeah, we weren't really hungry," Hope said nonchalantly, shrugging. Manuel wondered what it was like to be able to be so calm in such a situation. Perhaps that's why she's a better survivalist than you, his mind told him, and he had to concede the point to it.
"Where did you guys go, if you don't mind me asking?" Clem said in her most motherly voice. Despite her own reckless actions in the past, which Louis made a point of reminding her every now and then, she couldn't resist being overprotective over Hope and Manuel from time to time.
The teenagers exchanged a glance, during which they had one of their telepathic conversations. After years of sneaking out as children, which had eventually evolved into actual official supply runs for the school, the two of them had developed what they called an unnatural skill to sense what the other was thinking.
Manuel nodded, and Hope cleared her throat. "Ok, don't get angry…"
"That sounds like something I should get angry about," Clem said at once, raising an eyebrow.
"We went to that fishing hut dad showed me a few years ago," Hope explained, raising her hands as if in surrender. No matter how tough his best friend – or was she his girlfriend, now? – was, there was no arguing with Clementine Everett.
To the teenagers' surprise, Clem rounded on Louis with her eyebrows furrowed. "What fishing hut?"
"You know," Louis said, scratching the back of his neck. Manuel knew that even Clem's husband wasn't beneath being terrified of her. "Remember that shack I took you and AJ way back in the day, where I taught you to swim?"
"Dad taught you to swim?" Hope exclaimed, trying to rescue him.
"It was a long time ago," Clem said, nodding. "About a year after I arrived here, 20 years ago, I mentioned to Louis that I'd never really learned how to swim properly…"
"So, being the gentleman I am," Louis said pompously, grabbing the edges of his trench coat with his trademark smile, "I took Clem and AJ out into the forest and taught them myself."
"Like you taught us?" Manuel said, speaking for the first time since Clem and Louis had arrived.
"Yep," said Louis. He then turned to his wife. "A few years ago, after she'd had a nightmare, I took her there. I didn't wanna wake you up since you had been under the weather, so I took her on a nighttime trek."
"But-"
"Don't worry, we didn't run into any trouble," Louis cut her off, smiling. "I showed her the hut and told her about the time I found AJ there while she was being born. I should have known she would show it to Manuel here eventually."
"Only took her two weeks to show me," Manuel said, smirking at Hope, who kicked him beneath the table.
"Snitch."
"Okay," Clem said, nodding. "You guys are growing up, and I respect that, you know I do."
The kids nodded their approval and waited for her to continue.
"And I don't mind if you need to blow off some steam every now and then," she said. "God knows we did as kids. Just promise me that whenever you go traipsing through the forest, you'll tell either us or Aasim and Ruby, got it?"
"Promise," Manuel said. Hope crossed her heart, smiling up at her mother, who returned the gesture.
"Now, as much as I trust you guys, I'm gonna have to punish you for sneaking out," Clem said, pursing her lips.
Both Manuel and Hope stared at her and then at Louis, who raised his hands. "Hey, I'm with her," he defended himself. "You did sneak out. Something could have happened."
"Yeah, but nothing did," Hope said.
"Still," Clem cut her off. "I wouldn't like to encourage that behavior. I heard Aasim talking about the horse enclosures last night. He said they were getting dirty."
"Come on, mom," Hope protested, pouting. "Are you serious?"
"I am, Leslie," her mother said sternly. Hope cringed, knowing too well Clem only called her Leslie when she was angry.
"I'm not mad, guys," Clem said, almost contradictorily. "You were gonna have to do it at some point in the week anyway, why not today?"
Manuel and Hope exchanged a glance and sighed. "Alright, I guess," they said together, almost in unison.
"Ugh, I hate it when they do that," Louis said to Clem. Hope and Manuel snickered. It was then that the foursome realized more and more people were waking up and going about their daily lives.
Over the years, Aasim and Ruby had developed a system where at least half of the people living there had to have at least one assignment every day to keep things running smoothly. Most of those assignments involved tasks ranging from taking inventory of their supplies to going on runs into nearby cities in search of more.
"Hold on, have you guys told AJ yet?" Clem said.
"I haven't, actually," Manuel said, making a show of gulping. "I was hoping to keep all my limbs until I'm at least 20."
"My god, it's like you're trying to take my spot as the drama king," Louis said. "I'm sure AJ will take it well."
Hope leaned forward and placed a hand on Manuel's, smiling. "We'll tell him together before we clean up the stables, alright?"
"I guess," Manuel said dejectedly. Slowly, he and Hope got up and wandered towards the school, searching for AJ. After they'd gone in, Louis turned to Clem and smiled.
"Ah, young love…"
Inside, Hope and Manuel made their way through the hallway, greeting the twin siblings on the way. The walls on either side were covered in markings, most of which had been carved by the original troubled youth. Manuel's father had told him stories of some of those kids, most of which seemed to have tried to make their lives here a little less miserable. That was something he could relate to…
Standing outside AJ's room, the couple took a second before Hope knocked softly. She stepped back and waited for a response. Meanwhile, Manuel's attention was grabbed by the markings on the doorframe. One of the phrases read People are scary, monsters are predictable. Before he could ponder on the meaning of the phrase, the door swung open.
AJ stood on the frame, rubbing the sleep off his eyes. He wore a brown jacket over a white t-shirt. His jeans were ripped at the knees, and his boots were duct-taped together. His hair was sticking out every which way.
"Yeah?" he said groggily, blinking rapidly. "I thought I didn't have any chores today, it's my day off."
"We know," Hope said sweetly, pursing her lips. "We wanted to talk to you, do you mind?"
AJ studied their faces for a second, taking in their apprehensive expressions. Raising an eyebrow, he stepped to the side silently, letting them through. Hope walked in first, Manuel on her tail. AJ closed the door behind them and followed them to the other side of the room. The couple sat down on Manuel's bed, being mindful to leave a gap between them.
"Alright, what's this about?" AJ said, leaning back on his elbows.
"Well," Manuel said, not altogether convinced of his own tone of voice. He looked to his girlfriend for assistance, and she nodded.
"Something happened last night, and we wanted you to hear it from us," she said. "Manuel and I kissed last night."
She went silent after that, gauging AJ's reaction. The man, for what it was worth, did not get angry at all. He looked surprised, though, with AJ, Manuel could barely tell. He looked from one teenager to the other, a small smirk on his face. Somehow, Manuel thought this was more terrifying than if he had jumped out at him.
"Well, finally!" AJ exclaimed, clapping his hands. "I was wondering when you guys were gonna get together."
Hope and Manuel exchanged bewildered looks and then looked back at AJ. "How come everyone knew about us even before we did?" Hope said.
"Because you guys are so obvious, it's annoying," said AJ, rolling his eyes. "You guys have been so awkward around each other for months now; it's a mystery you guys took this long to figure it out."
"Geez, way to lay it on thick…" Manuel said in an undertone.
"But seriously, I'm happy for you guys," AJ said, nodding. "Just know, that if you hurt her-"
"Yeah, yeah," Manuel cut him off. "You'll sprain my ankles and stuff."
"I was gonna say I'll kill you, but spraining your ankles sounds nice too. Thanks for the suggestion," AJ said, winking at Hope. "That all you wanted to talk about?"
"Yeah, mom grounded us for sneaking out," Hope said, sighing. "We gotta clean up the stables."
AJ scrunched up his nose, shaking his head. "Well at least you'll get to see Bailey; you haven't ridden her in a while."
Hope's face lit up in that same way that made Manuel's stomach do twenty summersaults, the prospect of their day once again lifting her spirits. She and Manuel said goodbye to AJ, who lay back on his bed, and walked out of the room. More and more people had started to wander out of their rooms and out into the day.
As they walked through the small crowd, Hope and Manuel shared a small look and smiled. He noticed how her cheeks puffed out and small dimples formed on the edges of her lips. That small glint in her eyes was enough to make him smile even more, and he instinctively reached for her hand.
After a second, he realized what he'd done and cringed away awkwardly. Hope chuckled softly and shook her head, taking his hand herself and intertwining their fingers. Somehow, it felt as though they'd been together their whole lives. Could that be possible? Manuel thought, and eventually decided he didn't need an answer. Hope was the best answer he could wish for.
They made their way through the courtyard, waving at Aasim when they spotted him coming out of the admin building. Through what had once been the cemetery, they walked to the stables, which were located on the south border of the walls, a few yards away from their secret exit.
As the day was now in full swing, birds chirped overhead from the tops of the trees. The sun shone over them, providing what little warmth it could, though it was still quite chilly. As they opened the door to the stable, Manuel spotted a squirrel perched on one of the fence posts, alert. He broke apart from Hope and slowly walked toward it, his hand outstretched. Hope looked from the sidelines, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the right like she always did when Manuel found another interesting thing on one of their adventures.
"Hey there," he whispered, reaching for it as slowly as he could.
The squirrel noticed him standing there and stared down at him, its deep black eyes surveying him. Apparently, it seemed to deem him uninteresting, for the squirrel made a small squeaking sound and scurried off the post and onto the floor, hurrying to the small hole it had probably crawled in from.
"You're a natural," Hope said, chuckling.
"Shut up," he said, trying not to smile himself. "Let's go clean the stable, I guess."
The stable itself was a large pen made up of a large fence and a few traps Willy had designed lining the edges that led to the outside. Inside the pen, they had five horses and a foal.
Bailey, Hope's favorite, was a chestnut brown male horse with a dark brown mane. From a young age, Ruby had taught her and Manuel to ride, and Hope had taken a great liking to their youngest adult horse. Hope immediately went to the horse and pet him.
"Hey Bailey, I've missed you," she said softly, closing her eyes as the horse brought his face closer to her and inspected her. "Has Mike been treating you well?"
As if in response, Bailey neighed loudly, nodding his head. She stroked his neck, the feeling of warm skin against her calloused fingers a welcome sensation. After a few moments, she heard Manuel clear his throat from her right and turned to him. He was holding a shovel in each hand.
"Alright, I'll help you, I guess," she joked, taking one of the shovels.
They began their labor by shoveling the manure, of which there was a surprising amount for only six horses, into a corner. About twenty minutes into their task, Hope's face was already covered in sweat. She brushed the left side of her hair out of her face, using one of her mother's hair ties to tie it up.
"Why don't you just ask your dad to make your entire hair into dreadlocks?" Manuel asked curiously, shoveling a rather large pile of manure into a corner.
Hope shrugged, doing the same. "I told you, Manuel. I like having half and half. A bit of-"
"A bit of both your parents, yeah," he cut her off, grinning. She pretended to pout and stuck out her tongue to him. "Doesn't it get annoying? For example, in this kind of situation."
"I'll admit, it's not so practical in this case," she conceded, rolling her eyes. "But still, I like it."
"Don't get me wrong, I think it looks awesome," he said, backtracking. Keep it together, man, he told himself. "You look, uh, nice…" he finished lamely.
"Nice save," she teased, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed. She made a show of looking him up and down. "You look nice too."
"Thanks," he said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
They worked mostly silently for the better part of an hour, every now and then making comments on the horses. Aside from Bailey, there were two other males; King and Prince were father and son, their hair as black as the night sky. The rest, one of them gray, one ash and one of them white with brown patches which, according to Manuel, was called 'piebald'.
"Y'know what?" Hope said at one point, as they were finishing up with the manure. They had managed to finish the task in less than two hours, which they counted as an absolute win, since every second they spent in there, the smell became somehow more unbearable.
"What?"
"I'm glad you told me you liked me last night," she said, tucking a stray strand of curly hair behind her left ear. "I don't think I would have been brave enough."
"You're kidding?" Manuel said, almost incredulous. "You're like the bravest person I know."
"Really?" Hope said, only half-joking.
"Of course," he said, shaking his head. "You're… great."
Hope smiled and playfully pushed him. "Thanks, Manuel. You're great too."
They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, unspoken words floating between them. For a moment, they leaned in and Manuel closed his eyes. In a sudden flash of movement, however, Hope placed her hands on his chest. With a hard tug, she tripped him with her right foot, making him lose his balance and topple backward onto a pile of manure.
Unable to contain herself, Hope burst into laughter as Manuel made his best effort to get up. He looked up at her and rolled her eyes.
"Not fair," he said, trying his best to wipe manure from his hair. "You can't just kiss me and then tackle me."
"In my defense, I didn't kiss you," she said, raising her hands as if in surrender. "But you gotta admit, it was kinda funny."
"I'd describe it more as disgusting," he said, which only served to make Hope laugh even louder.
What she hadn't realized, Manuel thought, is that in her hubris she'd exposed herself to him. Manuel took the opportunity to kick her right leg and throw her off balance, making her trip onto the dusty and muddy floor.
"Oh, no, you didn't," she said, still giggling.
"You've met your match, Hope Everett," Manuel said, offering her hand to him. Some things, Manuel realized, would never change.