Chapter 7: A Long Night of Hidden Love

Atlanta's turn went by uneventfully and she woke Archie after an hour. By the next morning, everyone had taken a watch for one reason or another.

"Alright. Since Cronos hasn't shown, and he agreed for Saturday, we should be good for a while. But we'll watch camp again just in case." Jay instructed. Odie nodded, getting the fire started up again. It was something that didn't necessarily need to be done, but it felt better with it. The light from the sun was covered with gloomy grey clouds and the promise of rain. The boys set up a tarp above the fire, cutting a small flap for the smoke and hot air to escape.

"Well, so much for having a great camping trip." Odie muttered, smacking the side of his laptop for the second time. It hadn't been working very well during the chilled weather. "Ugh. Suppose none of you would have any ideas on how to get this thing to work?" he asked hopefully. They shook their heads. "Why not just warm it up in your tent?" Herry suggested after a minute of thought.

"Because that would mean soaking myself and my computer for no reason. I could easily..." He realized how simple the solution had been and stopped mid-sentence. Jay grinned, nodding to the fire. "Oh Ha Ha." Was the heated reply. Odie wasn't a rainy-day kind of guy.

The patter of rain against the tarp and the bite of the cool wind had caused Archie to pull out his sweater, which he hadn't worn outside when he'd exited his tent this morning. Jay had brought out a fleece blanket and draped the material over his and Theresa's shoulders. Herry sat close to the fire, Neil wrapped himself in a thick blanket, his face peering from a tiny opening and Atlanta had sat at Archie's feet near the fire, legs crossed as she munched absentmindedly on a deer patty.

The rain kept up a steady beat against the tarp. No one spoke much; it was oddly quiet within the group. Only when a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning did anyone make a noise. There were various pitched yelps and the rush of scrabbling as the rain pounded against the tarp and began pouring in on the teens. "Archie, Herry! Come help me with this! We'll get up another tarp and block off the sides alright?" They nodded and scrabbled to help the leader. It took ten minutes before the group was free of the rain. The three boys broke into the make-shirt tent in frenzy, eager to avoid the icy water. The wet day passed quickly, and once again, Atlanta found herself alone by the fire, listening to the dull drum of the rain.

She, unlike Theresa, was bored soon after she had begun her turn. She tucked herself in next to the dying fire. A soft glow from the embers remained, enough for her to spot the low pile of wood Herry had previously collected. She picked up a piece and threw it onto the dying coals. The sparks flew into the sky, imitating the fireflies that danced around the camp. She sighed. "God, it has to be at least twelve." She muttered. That's it. If I'm stuck watching the camp, Archie can join me. At least then I might be less bored.


She stood up, walking softly toward Archie's tent, which was off to the side, almost attached to her own. She stepped almost silently inside, grinning at Archie, who was asleep, sprawled every-which way. Completely unlike Jay had woken Theresa she nudged Archie's head with her hand.

"Go away Atlanta." He replied automatically. There was no way to trick him into believing it was someone else's hand. He knew the texture and feel of her hand like he knew his own. "But don't you want to guard the camp with me Arch?" Archie opened one eyes, surveyed the girl and slowly opened his other eye and sat up. "What time is it?" He asked. "Its sometime around eleven…I think. Theresa wasn't very clear when she and Jay left." Archie cocked an eyebrow at her quizzically. "Jay couldn't sleep, so him and Theresa stayed up while Herry slept. I can't blame them. I wouldn't want to wake Herry either." She added. He shrugged. "Alright. I'll come and watch the camp with you." He surveyed himself quickly, and then pretended not to.

He was wearing a large grey t-shirt and some sweat pants, while Atlanta wore a white t-shirt and shorts. "Aren't you cold?" He asked. She giggled softly. "I'm not cold Archie. And besides, Theresa and Jay managed to warm themselves up rather quickly, I'm sure we could get warmer than them doing much the same thing." She grinned mischievously before placing a hinting kiss on Archie's lips. His blush went beyond any shade of red could when she pulled away.

"After we finish watching the camp we can get Herry up. Then we can continue this." He murmured suggestively, grinning as she led the way out of his tent. It was then her mind began to talk to her, much like Theresa's had done.

Ever wonder what you did to deserve Archie? You know what you did. Absolutely nothing, but why did you get him? Oh right! Because you love him as much as he loves you. Well you both admit it to yourselves and each other, why won't you admit it aloud to the others. They all know, why won't you admit it? You're closer than even Theresa and Jay, yet you won't admit it.


Oh go away. I have my reasons. The other half of her retorted. Fine. She grinned, having won. "What's the grin for?" Archie asked, purple hair sticking up in various places aside from the two regular cowlicks. "Well, aside from your hair nothing." She replied, laughing quietly. He sat down on the log and waited for her to join him. She slid into a spot next to him and he brushed aside a stray fiery piece of hair from her lightly tanned face. "Who's to say your hair isn't worse than mine?" He whispered to her, his lips only centimeters from her ear. She shivered slightly from his warm breath. "Archie, wait until we're finished watching the camp alright? How can I do my job if you're here whispering like a little bird in my ear?" She hated having to push him away like that, and normally she wouldn't have, but it was her responsibility to watch the camp. At least for another twenty minutes.

"Archie, you hungry? You didn't eat much before you conked out." Atlanta asked, nodding toward the roasted deer meat. He shrugged. "Not really. I guess I'll have some though." He added, noticing her concerned expression. He picked up a small round cake-like piece and took a bite. He grimaced. It wasn't something he would eat everyday, or something that he would ever learn to enjoy. He finished it quickly. "Arch, you alright?" Atlanta asked. He smiled. "Arch" was the only nickname he'd ever received and Atlanta was the only person who every called him it. "Yeah. You know, I'm going to have to find a nickname for you." She grinned. "Well, nothing really works for my name. It all sounds really stupid. Aty, is way creepy, Lanta sounds like a flower, Ta sounds like a farewell, nothing really fits." She thought allowed, trying out different names. "Who said it had to be from your name?"

She tilted her head, looked up into his gray-blue eyes, grinned and gave him another kiss. He tingled. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" She asked, curiously, grinning thoughtfully. "Yes, many times. Why?" She began to wonder what she had been arguing with herself for. It was true. They never admitted it to the group, though it was commonly known what was between them. "Archie? Why won't we ever admit we like each other to the others? They all know, why not just admit it?" She asked. He sighed. Rarely ever did either of them ask. "If they already know, why tell them? I mean, we're comfortable when we're on our own, but when we get around them…" He left his sentence to hang, knowing she'd understand. Neither one of them were up for the embarrassment of explaining what they all knew to the group.

"Well they all seem to wait for some big announcement. I mean, they crack jokes expecting us to react differently than before, Theresa is constantly watching over me, and I appreciate it, but I can handle things without her." She sighed again. They'd approached a touchy subject, one neither of them enjoyed very much. "If it makes you feel any better we could tell them, just in the middle of some joke just announce it as if you're impatient. They'll laugh but the torment will be over most likely. For a while." She nodded. "A few more jokes and I'll do it if I wanted to or not." She decided. "Alright. Now that that's settles it. How much time have we spent talking? Enough too get back to sleep?" he asked hopefully, grinning in a semi-mischievous grin. "In about two minutes Archie. And you can go get Herry up. I'm not willing to spend anymore time in the rain that I need to." His grin widened. "And then what? I don't feel like treading the half-a-step to your tent." His gray-blue yes twinkled with mischief and he stood to get Herry. "Oh don't you worry Arch. You will not have to wait the thirty seconds for me. Now go and get Herry up." She scolded, although her own voice held pure trouble.


Sunlight poured in from the semi-transparent material of the tent where Archie and Atlanta were sprawled (fully clothed). The bright stream of unexpected light bore into the dreams Atlanta had previously been in the middle of. She groaned slightly and rolled over to block the light. She glanced at the man she loved laying beside her. His hair was in an even worse state. Then she suddenly woke up for real and out of her trance. OH! Shoot! Is it morning? Suddenly things began to settle in her mind and she realized the others would be waking any minute. She knew Theresa and Jay would understand, they'd woken up in the same room (tent) multiple times. "Archie!" she nearly hissed at him. There was no mistaking the panic in her voice and that alone woke him from his slumber.

"What?" He whispered. "I've got to get back to my own tent." She murmured. "Jay'll be waking up soon. Those too will understand but the others won't." She added. He sighed, removed his protective arm from her side and let her up. "I promise you if we continue camping this won't be the last time I spend a night in your tent." She murmured before leaving to her own tent.

She unzipped the tent flap and walked outside, turning to her own tent when she realized one of her friends was watching her. Crap! She thought, turning around to face Theresa. "Long night?" she asked, the older girl smiling at her friend. She knew the others wouldn't find out if Theresa was keeping her secret. "Maybe." She grinned. "So you're saying you're possibly innocent." Atlanta only nodded. "Alright well go get changed and meet me back out here. You'll never get to sleep again." She added, knowingly grinning.

After changing into some warmer clothes and heading out to sit by Theresa, she discovered her friend had disappeared from her sight. She wasn't willing to call out her friends name, as she'd wake the others, however she wasn't willing to leave her without some use of her hunter skills. She kneeled down, carefully moving her gaze slowly over the dirt, until she could faintly spot where her friend had stood, where the dirt had been moved to form the print of a shoe. She followed a small trail of footprints before coming upon a tree, branches draped over a small opening, barely big enough to fit a dog in. She shook her head in frustration, before a small detail caught her eye. "This can't be happening!"