Hey guys! New chapter! Sorry for any mistakes or if this one's bad too, like I said, I'm sick. And it's past my bedtime, so I'm tired too. But I hope this makes for a decent chapter. If not, tell me, and I'll go in tomorrow, redo, and repost. Enjoy if you can!

Squint was annoyed. Very, very annoyed. There was this new girl visiting the valley for a few days, his mother and hers were old friends. And because Julie and Kate wanted some girl time, they sent the two off to play. Which was basically the worst thing ever.

It's not that Lisa wasn't nice; she was. Very much so. She was very talkative and sweet, trying to make nice with her new potential friend. If they were to spend the day together, she wanted him to like her. "So, um, Squint?"

He looked over at her. "Yeah?"

"Where're we going?" she flicked back her extra long ears, which were flopping in her face. Being a loppy eared rabbit, they were always in her face. But she tolerated it. Mostly.

"The bog."

Her big purple eyes lit up. "Ooh! That sounds fun! What're we gonna do there?"

'Well, if we're lucky, not run into my friends.' He thought bitterly, and was half tempted to say it, but remembered his mother's warning. He was to be nice to her, make the little girl feel welcome. "Might play pirates. Dunno."

"Oh…" she didn't want to sound stupid, but asked her next question all the same. "…What's that?"

He looked at her with big, big eyes, something she found ironic compared to his name. She wondered where in the world his parents had come up with that in the first place… "You- you're kidding right?" she was silent. "Oh tell me you're kidding!"

She giggled nervously. "…Nope."

"Ok… I've got a lot ta teach you." And with that, he grabbed her hand and they started running, Lisa laughing.

The little doe couldn't help blushing- this boy was holding her hand! Just to get her to hussle, but still! That was a big deal, although she wasn't sure in a way… part of her was screaming 'Ew, boys are gross!' while the other part said 'But he is just trying to be nice'. She wasn't sure if it was half and half, or what percentage.

They arrived near the back wall of the valley, where the ground was mushy and the trees had become very thick. "Um…" she tilted her head.

"Welcome to the bog." He shoved aside a large patch of leaves, and a large path was revealed.

"Cool!"

He smiled. "I know. C'mon." he grabbed her hand again, making her smile. "Stay close. You could fall in if ya don't know where yer goin. Got it?" she nodded and gripped his fingers tighter. It was Squint's turn to blush; he'd never really been around girls his age. Well… except for Shira and Raz, but they didn't count. They weren't even the same species, and they didn't make him feel all nervous and… flustered. Like he wanted to… to impress her.

As they went along, hopping from rocks and squishy ground, Lisa's ears flopped in front of her big blue eyes again. Annoyed, she huffed and let go of Squint's paws, but continued walking, struggling to fix her ears. It only took a few moments, but that was enough. One step further to the right than her guide, and suddenly the ground was gone. The little kit gave a strangled scream as she was suddenly submerged.

Squint tried not to panic, but that was hard, he dropped down on the ground where the 'ground' had given way, which was really a large chunk of brown and green moss. He plunged his arm in and groped downwards, hoping, praying- there! He made a grab at the object, and struggled to haul the girl out of the water.

She was shivering and crying, dripping water and moss everywhere. "…L-Lisa?" he took a hesitant step forward. "You o-" she suddenly had her arms around him and was sobbing, terrified, into his chest. He hesitantly hugged back, feeling guilty but relieved, Lisa wouldn't have fallen in if he hadn't brought her here… but at least she was safe. Ultimately shaken up, but safe.

"Oh, th-thank you!" she gasped. "I- I thought I was gonna d…" she couldn't finish and began to bawl again.

It took awhile, but eventually she calmed down. "You ok now?"

"Y-Yeah." She pulled away and shook herself off, before fixing her ears yet again.

"We should do something about those. They almost got you drowned."

"Oh, believe me, I'd love to." She agreed. "But what can we do."

"Well…" he looked around, before his eyes landed on something not faraway. "There!' he picked up a rock cautiously and threw it, just to be sure. When it bounced, he fearlessly went out to it. He pulled the vine down with a little difficulty, then presented it to her.

"Ooh… pretty!"

"Here. Turn around." She did as he said, and felt it wrapping around her ears. The pretty flowering vine, with teeny pink and white blossoms all over it, was tied around her ears in a cute bow. The very center of the bow was twisted so the flowers made a heart.

"Woah…" she checked her reflection in the water she'd previously fallen in. "Wow! It looks so cool! Whadda you think?"

"Oh, u-um…" he debated for a moment. Should he tell her the truth? Deciding he should, he took a deep breath, and told her what he thought. "Ya- Ya look real pretty."

She stared at him for a minute, blinking… before giggling in delight and throwing her arms around him. "Oh thank you! That's so nice!" she snuggled against him thankfully for a minute, before they broke apart, holding paws in between them for a moment, just watching each other, enjoying the peaceful moment… the slow, sluggish sound of the gurgling water going past them and around rocks, chirping of crickets, sweet smell of wild, reclusive flowers that could only be found in this part of the bog…

"So, um…" he hated to break the peaceful moment, but Squint knew that if he didn't show up soon, his friends would come looking for him, making sure he hadn't drowned. "Should we keep going?"

"Oh, um, right!" she agreed. Her blue eyes flicked down, and she realized their fingers were interlocked. He, wondering what she was looking at, glanced down as well, before his brown orbs shot wide. They each took a step apart, stuttering incomprehensively. Good grief if someone saw that…

They started up again, but Lisa, after nearly drowning, was too scared to just walk behind him, despite the danger of her vision being blocked again had been fixed, so there was only one solution. She wanted to hold his hand again. She slid her fingers in between his, and at his surprised, questioning look, she gave him a pleading look. He rolled his eyes, but allowed it all the same. She smiled again and they kept on, the female kit with a little hop in her step, making her ears sway.

"So Squint."

"Yeah?"

"What're your friends like?" they climbed over a rock, him sliding down first, before gesturing for her to follow. She did, but slipped a little and ended up with her having to steady him. He set her back on her feet and nodded for them to continue, offering her his hand. She took it happily, and he began to answer her question.

"They're really nice, and tons'a fun ta play with!" he began enthusiastically. "We do all sortsa stuff, but pirates the most. Yer gonna love our ship!"

"Ship?"

"Yeah! We just finished putting in the starboard cannons, and put in a slide and ladder so you can get in and out below deck easier-" he babbled on, while Lisa listened in awe.

"Sounds like fun!" she exclaimed. "Do you play everyday?"

"Mm, not everyday." He answered honestly. "But most of em! The only times we don't is when one of us can't, cuz then we don't have a whole crew. And you can't be pirates without a crew!"

"Um, Squint?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that it?" she raised her free paw to point.

He looked and found, sure enough, they had arrived. "Yep." He nodded. "Cool huh?"

She nodded. "Wow… you guys did all that?"

He nodded proudly. "Yep."

"That's… really cool."

"I know. Come on!" he began to tug her in the direction of the gangplank that they'd set up. "I'll show ya the top deck, then maybe we can get Silas to take ya ta the crow's nest."

"The what?" they were going to be invading a crow's home?

"Never mind." He dismissed as they began to climb up the vines coating it to make it easier. Upon noticing his new friends was struggling, he reached down and offered her his paw. She took it, and he dragged her up. "Hold on." He put one arm around her shoulder, and she in turn did the same. They were soon standing on the deck. "See? That wasn't too-"

"Hey Squint." A smooth, eloquent indian voice spoke behind him. "Whose your girlfriend?"

The rabbit groaned internally. Oh no…

Well? Was that too bad? I hope it was decent. I have to go to bed now, so I'md kinda tired, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. Like I said, still sick, so that won't help either, but I'm feeling a little better, if anyone cares. Review please!