Meg glared at the blood dripping down her leg. Fuck The Hillbilly straight to hell. She tried to swipe the blood off of her leg but just ended up smearing it all over herself. She groaned in annoyance and glared at her phone, a notification sitting on the home screen.

"One new message from CrystalFeather!"

Meg felt her head pounding. She had been extremely distracted in the trials today thanks to the conversation she'd had with NightDream yesterday, and she was having bad anxiety over it. What the hell do you even say to someone after mutually agreeing that you have feelings for each other? How do you continue knowing that it can never happen?

She opened the stupid message program anyway. She tapped on CrystalFeather because she wanted to put off facing NightDream for as long as possible.

CF: Hello.

HW: Uh…hi?

CF: Where are you?

Okay… Meg didn't really know how to react to these messages. Did she do something wrong? Did CrystalFeather know about the conversation she'd had with NightDream? They had to. They were friends with him. They were being this way for a reason.

HW: Excuse me?

CF: I will repeat myself. Where are you?

HW: Why do you want to know?

CF: It is not your concern.

HW: I think my own location is my concern.

CF: No, it is not. Tell me now or face the consequences.

HW: The consequences? What the hell are you talking about?

CF: I will bring you suffering that you have never known but will soon become very familiar with.

HW: You're being a jerk right now, CrystalFeather.

CF: I am not CrystalFeather.

…what? Oh god… could it be?

CF: Haha! I'm kidding! hey gurl!

Meg felt like she'd been drop kicked.

HW: That is not funny! You scared the shit out of me!

CF: I got you good lmao.

HW: Don't talk to me, creep.

Meg closed her contact, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, tossing her phone to the ground next to herself. What the hell was CrystalFeather thinking? They were being irrational. What an asshole! They knew about The Entity! They made me think The Entity had found me! Of course… they had no idea I was a survivor… but still! What an ass.

"Meg? Is that you?"

Meg jumped in surprise, looking up from her seat against the tree to see Claudette standing there, her hands in her pockets. Meg's heart was racing.

"O-oh! Hey Claudette! What are you doing all the way out here?" Meg managed to spit out, sweat pooling on her forehead.

Claudette made a weird face, scrunching her lip up in confusion, "I could ask you the same thing. We've been missing you at the campfire. Dwight has been going on and on with nobody to tell him to shut up for weeks. What have you been doing out here?"

Meg placed her hands on the ground, trying to slide her phone under he leg without being noticed, "Oh, you know! Just… getting away from it all for a bit! You know how it is, heh heh."

Claudette took a few steps towards her, "Do you sleep out here?"

She looked away, keeping her mouth closed as her eyes trailed the ground next to her.

Claudette sighed and walked over to Meg and sat down next to her. She leaned back against the tree and looked around the forest, the breeze flowing the stray strands of hair into her face. She ignored them.

"It's nice out here."

"Yep."

Claudette turned her head and looked at Meg who was sitting pretty close to her, "We've known each other for a while Meg, haven't we?"

Meg turned to took at her at that, "We sure have. A few years I think now, huh?"

Claudette chuckled, "Yeah! It's been quite the ride hasn't it? Everything we've been through together?"

Where was she going with this?

"One hell of a ride. You've saved my ass more times than I can count."

"I was happy to."

"You spoil me."

"Anyway," Claudette continued, "I just want to say… you know… you can talk to me whenever you need to."

Meg blinked at her, giving her a confused look.

"I know you come out here to be alone, but I'm scared that it's not healthy for you." Claudette said quietly, a frown on her face, "You don't have to be alone. We all want you around. It's more than just about being stuck here together."

Meg stared at her, completely lost for words. Claudette was too kind for this world. Meg felt her heart swell with how much she appreciated having her as a friend. She had no idea what she would do without her.

But Claudette was not done. Not yet.

Claudette gazed into Meg's eyes, her brown eyes glistening with the moonlight that broke through the thick overhead of leaves above them. Meg found herself getting lost in them. They were so kind. Meg could look into them all day long without a care in the world.

Claudette smiled at her, "We all care about you." She gulped and looked like she was having difficulty speaking. When she regained her thoughs, she looked back up at Meg with her eyes glistening with tears, "I care about you." She looked so scared.

Before Meg could even respond, Claudette raised her hand and brushed the stray strands of red hair behind Meg's ear, sliding her hand down to gently cup her cheek as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Meg's.

Meg's eyes shot wide in surprise but found herself melting into it, kissing back softly and placing a hand against Claudette's, gently tracing her fingers against her own as they kissed. Meg felt her heart swell again in a different way this time, her cheeks turning a bright red as the wind grew a little stronger and wipped their hair around, completely ruffling up Claudette's handy work. But Meg didn't care. Meg didn't have a care in the world.

Except one.

Guilt immediately filled Meg entirely and she pulled away suddenly, Claudette's eyes opening in alarm.

"I'm sorry- I-" Meg choked out, fumbling over herself completely.

"No! No it's okay, it's my fault! I didn't- I didn't mean to-" Claudette was stuttering and looked just as surprised as Meg, "I… I'm gonna go…" She stood to her feet and quickly retreated back where she came from, hugging herself as the wind was strong now, whipping her hair wildly into her face as she walked.

"Claudette! Wait!" Meg called after her, jumping to her feet and reaching after her.

Claudette didn't look stop or look back. She disappeared behind the tree line.

Meg's breathing picked up, tears swelling up in her eyes and lump forming in her throat. She kicked the grass and stomped over to the tree. She glared at it with swollen eyes and raised a shaky fist, slamming it against the tree with every ounce of her strength. There was a loud pop and Meg gasped in pain, retracting her hand. Blood dripped down her busted knuckles, sliding down her arm and falling to the ground in thin streams. Meg dropped to her knees and put her face in her hands, letting her confused emotions completely overtake her. Her body shook from her sobs. She gasped as she cried for god knows how long. She didn't even notice that her phone had gone off in her emotional state.

"One new message from NightDream!"

ND: Hey HiddenWhisper! You miss me? :)