Chasing the tesseract

Chapter 18

Later that day, I lay in the hammock I've made from leaves and supplies when Pietro walks up to me. Glaring at him, I roll over, turning my back to him and continuing to carve a spear out the stick I've found with my knife. Sighing audibly, Pietro walks over to my hammock, flipping it over and sending crashing to the floor.

"Hey!" I yell at him, glaring up at him from the ground as I point my knife at him. "What was that for?" Rolling his eyes, Pietro knocks the knife from my hand and pulls me to my feet. After narrowing my eyes again, I pick up my blade, and my handmade spear.

"You know exactly what that was for." he comments as I sit back in the hammock, crossing my arms as he sits on the other end. Ignoring him, I go back to carving the stick causing him to roll his eyes again. "Have you spoken to Stephen yet?" he asks as I pause.

"Nope." I admit, getting up from the hammock and grabbing my blades as well as Katniss's bow from the tree near me.

"Well are you going to?" he questions, his eyes narrowing as he studies my face carefully. Standing up and turning to face him, I smile at him sarcastically.

"Nope." I mumble, slinging the quiver over my shoulder as I head off to hunt in the hope that Pietro will leave me alone. Of course, the annoying idiot doesn't.

"Seriously?" he asks, disbelief evident in his voice as I spot a squirrel in the tree in front of me. Raising the bow and placing an arrow in it, I point it at the creature, narrowing my eyes to focus on it.

"I don't see why I should talk to him." I whisper as I let go of the arrow, sending it flying at the squirrel only for it to land in the branch underneath it, causing the squirrel to run off. "Damn it." I mutter as I pull out another arrow, readying it in my bow.

"Did we hear the same conversation yesterday or not?" mumbles Pietro as I spot a small bird perched on a branch not far in front of me. Raising the bow to my eye level, I release the arrow and it plunges into the bird, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Yes. Yes we did." I agree as I walk across to where the dead bird lays, picking it up in my hands as Pietro comes across to my side.

"So you did hear Stephen say that he was in love with you?" declares Pietro causing me to roll my eyes again and sigh audibly, mostly for his benefit. He just deosn't give up does he?

"I heard him perfecty well," I confess, standing up and turning to face Pietro, plastering my face with a sarcastic smile. "no need to repeat it."

"And that had no effect on you whatsoever?" he replies, shaking his head as his eyes fill with disappointment. He cares so much doesn't he.

"Should it have?" I add, raising my eyes at him as I stand still, bow in my hand.

"You know sometimes I think that you're not even human." chuckles Pietro, looking down at the ground as he shakes my head. I mean he's not wrong. I'm not human, well not entirely. "You can't ignore him forever Abi." he sighs, looking back up at me with a serious expression.

"I can and I will."

"Sooner or later, you're going to have to talk to him." he reminds me as he steps closer to me, glancing at the direction we've just came before looking after me. Oh, I get it. He wants me to go talk to him now. Not happening.

"I have nothing to say to him." I declare, turning around and marching off in the opposite direction, leaving Pietro shaking his head. After several moments of him not following me, I begin to relax when he suddenly comes speeding in front of me.

"How do you feel about him? Honestly?" he asks, standing directly in my path so that I can't walk forwards. Stepping to the side, I attempt to go around him only for him to mirror my movement and block me again. Okay, he wants me to be honest, I'll be honest.

"I don't have feelings Pietro." I grunt, giving up and turning around. He catches my arm, turning me to face him. Grabbing the blade from my belt, I point it at his throat, narrowing my eyes as he retracts his chin.

"You do and that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" I ask, dropping my hand and placing the blade in my belt as I walk back to the space where my hammmock is.

"Your scared of the way he makes you feel because you don't want to feel anything." he concludes causing me to stop walking, turning to face him. Narrowing my eyes, I watch as he wlaks closer to me. How did he know that?

"I don't deserve to feel anything," I confess, my eyes blurred as I drop the bow to the ground and look up at Pietro. "especially not happiness. Or love." Looking away, I wipe at my eyes with the corner of my sleeve. "Not after everything I've done."

"I know you think you're scary and damaged so don't deserve good things but you do Abi." he declares, causing me to frown as I look at the ground. "And it's time you start relaising that." he mumbles leaving me pondering on his words as he walks away. Maybe he's right.

Maybe, just maybe, we can fix each other.