**Jane POV**
So far so good. I haven't seen him once, and the month is half over. I've built myself a little make-shift camp in one of the trees and sleep in a sleeping bag, though I probably don't need it seeing as it's late July. I guess it helps protect me from mosquito bites.
The hunting has been going good as well. My shot has gotten better and my snares have captured more. The berries are abundant in the shrubs by the river. I have everything I need to survive out here. Still, I do miss human contact: talking with people, seeing people, hugs, and handshakes. But this is good, I need this.
Walking back to my camp from a bath in the river I hear a loud boom in the sky. I look up curiously, and see dark clouds in the distance. Storm's coming. I should be protected from the tree's canopy. But if it's too windy I could start swaying a bit, and if it's too rainy, I could get wet. Oh well, such is the life of a hunter. I've been forced to hunt for food the last 2 weeks because I can't live off of roots and berries. I don't particularly like killing things, but if it's my only way to survive so be it.
It's been getting warmer outside, and I'd kill for a dive in the lake, even though it is freezing. But going up to the lake means risking seeing him. And my God Damn teenage brain can't make up its mind! I want him. I hate him. I love him. I wish I never met him. So many times I've been tempted to go see him, but the less I see or hear of him the better. Thinking too much about him hurts.
Another crack of thunder is heard overhead and suddenly lightning splits the sky. It hasn't started raining yet, but it will.
I make it back to the canopy with my bag full of berries, a small pouch of honey that I slowly drank, and a squirrel. Some bugs hang in the air seeking protection from the rain. I don't really care.
My hair has grown out past my chest, I now need to pin it back or wear it up someway so I can see, and my preference is the side ponytail. My skin has gotten darker from so much time spent in the sun. I don't burn easily, a nice inheritance from dad. I know mom and dad both want me to come home, we had originally planned for me to only spend a weekend up here, but I quickly decided it wasn't long enough. I can see why he likes it up here so much. I honestly have no clue what is going on in his head, and I'm tired of trying to imagine what he's thinking about, but at the same time, I can't stop. I'm worried about him. But I don't want to be worried about him. He is just so frustrating! I punch the tree holding my make-shift home off the ground, quickly realizing what a bad idea that was. My knuckles are slightly bleeding, and a small internal pain erupts under my skin.
"Fuck it." I climb the tree and crawl under the only blanket I brought and try to sleep as silent sobs wrack my body.
People always talk about the calm before the storm. I prefer the calm after the storm. The sky looks fresh, renewed, the clouds break for patches of sunshine or moonlight depending on the time of day. It's early morning now. A low fog has settled over the valley. The rain didn't penetrate my little fortress very much. The ground is damp when I set my feet on it. For some reason I don't feel like shoes. Shoes can be so restricting. Of course they protect your feet and everything, but still, the cool ground feels freeing. I think I'll take a morning run.
Everything looks wet and shiny as the sun peaks through. The leaves, the spider webs, the little lizards. But once I reach the valley my sight becomes limited. There isn't much I can see ahead of me, so I slow down my pace, not wanting to run into or trip on anything. There's a little stream down here that I come to for water. Now if I could just see where-
"GET DOWN!" I'm tackled by something heavy, letting out an "oof" as I hit the ground. The thing that jumped me suddenly stands up and faces the fog. My head is spinning slightly at the sudden contact. I hear the crack of a bow letting an arrow fly. There's more footsteps, but I can't make out where they're coming from. My attacker and whatever they were shooting at are suddenly gone, there is only fog and footsteps. I stay low to the ground. I don't have any weapons of my own with me. Not even my shoes. So, I just close my eyes, and listen…
The stream I was looking for is somewhere to my left.
There's an owl hooting somewhere in front of me.
A light breeze has picked up creating a symphony of leaves.
The fog gently rolls by me, silent as the moonrise.
A branch cracks behind me to the right.
Then my skin freezes. A low growl tears through the fog. A pair of bright yellow eyes stands at 5 feet tall, directly in front of me. I can hear the tongue lick its chops, and it takes another step forward. Its dark matted fur shows no shine like the rest of the woods. Its bloodied paws and mouth show that it recently killed. The scar running from its left eye to its ear shows that it's not afraid to fight. I know this is a fight I'm going to lose. I slowly stand, in a last effort to make myself seem unapproachable, but I know it will do no good.
Its jaws snap suddenly and it takes another step forward. Then, everything happens at once: I feel the pain spread across my cheek before I hear that familiar crack of the bow releasing another arrow, and the before the beast could reach me, that same arrow now lays plunged into its chest.
My breath comes out slowly as I turn to face the owner of the bow. But the fog is still too thick. It's his voice who gives him away. "I told you to stay down." He growls.
"Sorry." I say quietly. Then touching my cheek, "You shot me."
"You were in the way. I did the best I could."
"The best you could?! You're the best shot in District 12 besides your mom."
"Oops." He said simply then I heard his feet begin to walk away.
"Hey! Where are you going?" I run after him.
"Away from here."
"Don't you want your arrow?"
"No. Why do you have no shoes on?"
"I didn't want them." I say grumpily.
I could almost hear him roll his eyes. His pace picked up.
"Where are you going?"
"You already asked that."
"You didn't give me a real answer."
"What qualifies as a real answer?" He shoots back. "I'm going away from here."
"You mean away from me." I say quietly. He doesn't answer because it's not a question, and he and I both know what the answer would be if it were. "What if I decide to follow you?"
"You won't."
"You don't know that."
"You haven't come looking for me before because you didn't want to. You still don't want to because you're afraid of what you'll find."
"I don't even know where you've been staying." I say calmly, hoping he won't detect my lie.
"That's a lie." Dammit. "You know where I was. That's why you decided to build yourself a fort in a tree."
I look up at him suddenly. "How did you know that?"
Peyton's eyes widen slightly as he realizes his slip but turns away and begins to walk faster.
"Have you been spying on me?" A smirk reaches my lips.
"I simply came across it hunting one day. I didn't know you were coming out here. I turned and I left."
"How do you know it was mine?"
"I saw you." He says suddenly very quiet.
"Why so shy suddenly?"
"You didn't have a top on." I felt a blush creep to my cheeks.
"Did you like the view?" I ask before I can stop myself. Peyton freezes in front of me, his shoulders tense. He turns to me smiling, but it wasn't his sincere smile, it was a dark smile. My cheeks feel even redder.
"Are you asking if I got off on watching you strip, knowing you didn't know I was there?" He takes a step closer to me. I can feel my heart beat in my throat. He moves so he is standing right in front of me, leans down and whispers in my ear. "No." He turned suddenly, his face stonewall, and ran off into the fog.
I couldn't move. My heart fell to my stomach. My blood ran cold. And it hurt to breathe. Did I want him to say yes? Of course! But, at the same time, that would have made everything more difficult. God damn him! I sprint after him before I convince myself otherwise. I know he has a head start, but if he expects me to just go home after that little show, he is dead wrong. Now it's my turn to spy on him.
It takes me a good hour jogging to reach the cliff that overlooks the lake cabin and the lake. There is smoke coming from the cabin, and a pile of animal bones outside. He's definitely here. He walks outside the cabin then… not wearing a shirt. Awesome. His hair shines, and his muscles show very nicely. Why is this happening to me? Why couldn't I just go with Trey? Because Trey is a jerk. Oh yea. If I could just get closer…
Suddenly I realize I was getting too close. The cliff couldn't hold me anymore and it gave way. The fall is not as long as I remember. But I hit the water harder than I expected. It's going to leave a mark. The water is cold, but not freezing, then again, it is summer. I surface easily and make my way to shore. Peyton is no longer on the beach. The sun hangs high in the sky, bringing me instant warmth when I step out of the water. A towel hangs on a low branch by the beach.
"Come inside when you're dry." Peyton yells from the cabin. I quickly towel off my exposed skin and run the towel through my hair. My tank top and shorts are wet, but that doesn't matter a whole lot. I take them off and lay them in the sun, leaving me in just my underwear and bra. Deal with it Peyton.
I walk inside the cabin. Peyton is fixing the fire, and turns to when I walk in. He doesn't even flinch. "Are they drying outside?" He asks.
"Is what drying outside?"
"Your clothes."
"Yes… do you have a problem with this?" I motion to my exposed body, quickly heating up from his gaze.
He smirks. "Nope." Then just like that, his face is somber again. Then he turns and sits down in a chair by the fire, which I just now notice has a pot hanging over it. "We need to talk."
FINALLY! "Oh? About?"
"You know exactly what about." He looks back at the fire. "You have to stop."
"Stop?"
"Being near me. Doing this." He gestures to my body drying very quickly. "Move on."
My heart can't decide to beat fast or slow. I decide not to let either show. "How can I when you keep knocking out the guys I see?"
"You needed my help."
"I did not!"
"He had you pinned against a wall!"
"I had it under control!"
"Just like you did with Damon?!"
My heart stops. I can't breathe. He can't know. "What?" I whisper.
"You think I didn't know?"
"I…"
"He made me watch!" Peyton yells in my face. My knees are weak. "All those things that he did do you! Every scream that came out of your mouth echoes in my mind whenever I see you! You weren't the only one hurt by what he did to you!"
"He made you… watch? But, we were the only ones in the room…"
"There was a window above you. They placed me in front of it. Then Corissa left to go play with Finn, and Damon grabbed you." Peyton said, but more calm in tone. "They gave me some kind of sedative that paralyzed my body, but wouldn't knock me out. I couldn't yell for you. I couldn't move my eyes away from you. I couldn't move to avoid watching… what happened."
I scoff. "You can't say the word?"
His gray eyes pressed into mine. "Can you?"
"Don't answer a question with a question."
"Don't ask a question you know the answer to."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Looking down at the ground, I answer. "I can't say it. Saying it makes it more real."
"I know. But sometimes facing the truth makes it easier to move on."
"Are you moving on?" Peyton looks at me, and I swear for a moment, pain flashes across his doe gray eyes.
"I don't need to move on." He stands and turns his back to me. "I don't feel anything anymore remember?"
"Bullshit!"
"I don't love you Jane."
"Do you love your mother?" He turns to face me. Our faces so close now.
"What's she got to do with it?"
"You said you don't feel anything anymore. You didn't say you don't feel anything for me anymore. I'm trying to prove you wrong."
"Yes I love my mother."
"So you do feel."
"Just not for you."
"I can live with that." Then I launch at him and plant my lips against his.
**So I had a supeerrrrr long dry spell I know. Shame on me. I had run out of inspiration for quite some time and didn't know where to take the story or how long I wanted to continue with it. But I think I've found it again, so hopefully I'll finish the story soon!
Please Review!**