Caleb grinned when he pulled himself to the edge of the lake - he'd had to swim for the portal - and found himself staring at exactly what he wanted. He found himself breathing a laugh, as Will's eyes watched something that he couldn't see, hugging her knees to her chest; she didn't see him, nor hear him until he pushed himself out of the water, because of the splashing noise of the water that interrupted the silence. It'd have to be near enough morning; midnight at the least, and Caleb ran a hand through his soaking hair as he thanked anyone out there that they'd ever made a mistake like Will. Because she looked beautiful, in the moonlight and he'd always liked when her hair hung as it did now; with several strands seemingly trying to run away - to elope with the very breeze itself, as Will smiled, almost unnoticeably, and her eyes shone like hazel and henna, and russet mahogany.. And it was all for him, because who else would ever be here at midnight.. "Hey. Sooo.."

"You kissed me."

He'd said it with a grin; a laugh in his voice, but it only served to make his mood improve, that she proved herself as Will, by quite quickly taking an overstated defensiveness. "You were upset!"

It could have been the moment to agree, or the moment to tell her he liked that she did it, but Caleb couldn't overpower his own elation, and it didn't help that the night had taken it's toll, and the laughing and singing and kissing of heads had all left Caleb's mind in a near-drunken state; leaving him only with the ability to stare at her sour frown, and breath silent laughs because he felt like he might just stay here forever.. And there was something exceedingly enticing about the fact that she hadn't even noticed his inability to breathe words of how beautiful and perfect she was - no, Wilhelmina Vandom was not that sort of girl, and she only honed the ability to take offense from his lack of words; her frown quickly pouting into a sulk, and she'd already started speaking when he remembered how to use his ears once again.

"..and besides, I'd do it again if I-" She stopped mid-flow, and he supposed out of embarrassment, as her stunning eyes searched up for his, with her face paralyzed with unease, which only transformed into panic when he continued to grin and allowed himself to cock an eyebrow at her quizzically. "I mean- ..I meant.."

And he wasn't entirely sure how he'd crossed the several feet to Will, but he was glad that she only stayed tense for a second, before her arms - left at her sides as his arms wrapped around her more tightly than was probably comfortable - they slide from his grasp and were probably reaching for his neck, when they gave up and took fistfuls of his soaking t-shirt instead; her head lolling against him with the fatigue of a little girl, as he rested his chin on cherry red that looked darker in the moonlight. "Thank you Will."

He didn't know how long he stood there, and he knew that her little dungarees would be wet as well as muddy now, but she wasn't particularly resistant, and the longer he stood there, her scent was wafting up and his delirium was making the idea of moving drift further and further.. Until her warm voice muffled tiredly against him and he realized that dreams were meant for dreaming, and that this was not a dream. "I hope you'll miss us then."

"What?" Somehow an over-flooding joy that had evaporated all sense from his powerless mind, managed to disintegrate within seconds at the words of one Will Vandom - the cause of the joy in the first place. And he wasn't sure what to say, as Will leaned back in his resistant-to-let-go arms that refused to do more than slightly loosen around her back.

"You should probably go. To your father." Chocolate turned to mud, and Caleb suddenly found that it was his mind rather than hers, that was whirring with the defensive. Because she really didn't want him. She only wanted him to leave.

"You want me to go." Caleb let go of her when it took too long and she didn't say no right away, and he shrugged her off when she stared at him apologetically.

"I don't- I don't want you to stay.." Her eyes widened, as though she'd revealed her big secret, and Caleb felt himself shooting her a determined, accusatory glare, as she floundered in her own words. "N-no, I didn't mean- I just.."

He wasn't welcome. That's what she was saying, and Caleb ignored her shivering form as he turned to stride away, calling the only words that came, behind him.

...

"Don't bother, I hate this planet anyway." Will watched Caleb's back as he left, and she suddenly realized he wasn't lying. Her stupid stuttering words had only made him able to say what he'd stopped saying out of politeness. Of course he didn't want to stay. "I'll be gone tomorrow."

It was useless, Will knew. Because it hadn't mattered, and it wouldn't have mattered if he'd stayed long enough to listen. But he was gone now anyway. "I don't want you to stay. If you don't want to."

And he didn't. She was right; she was just a burden and he had only been making the best of a bad situation. On two worlds, Caleb was this stunning, perfect, intelligent guy, and Will had been stupid enough to think he might be her friend. Irma's friend. Taranee's friend, and Cornelia's man, and Hay Lin's 'adoptive' brother. But they were just filling in for his real life, and she realized now that he had a father, and he had his friends, and he had all those rebels who he'd celebrated with tonight. And she'd even pushed him with Cornelia, when she'd never even wondered if he had someone in Meridian.. And she'd just started to presume that he'd quite liked it here.