𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦²

3.

Tuk skipped down the village, dragging a very nervous Laya behind her. As they passed certain houses or structures, Tuk pointed them out.

"That's where my best friend lives! She's awesome, we used to go-"

Laya started to tune her out and noticed all the villagers staring at her. She knew this would happen, but she suddenly had an overwhelming feeling to go hide in Neteyam's bed. Tuk kept rambling, pointing out who lived in what homes, and Laya just nodded along.

Suddenly Tuk stopped and her eyes went wide. "Grandma!" Laya looked up and saw who she guessed was the Tsahik of the clan, obvious because of her clothing. Tuk raced forward, forgetting that she was still holding Laya's hand. Laya nearly fell over but followed Tuk.

Mo'at turned around and smiled at Tuk, then eyed Laya. Tuk ran into Mo'at's arms and embraced her. She, of course, embraced her back. "My dear Tuk" She muttered. Tuk separated the two of them and smiled at her grandmother. "I have so much to tell you grandma, I rode an Ilu!" She exclaimed. Mo'at smiled warmly at her grandchild, but looked at Laya, who just sent her a smile.

"That's great! Just let me speak with your friend here, okay?" Tuk nodded and moved away from her grandma. Mo'at moved closer to Laya and eyed her.

"You are?"

Laya swallowed, a nervous feeling falling over her. "Rolayea" She replied.

Mo'at clicked her tongue and circled the young girl. She grabbed her hands and inspected the five fingers.

"Interesting..." She dropped Laya's hand and grabbed her hair. She smelled it, a look of interest falling over her face. Then she grabbed her arm and looked at the difference in colors between them. Laya waited patiently and just complied with what she was doing.

Mo'at dropped Laya's arm and faced her. "Neteyam?" She asked to Laya, who just nodded. A small smile formed on Mo'at's face and she looked away.

"I'm glad he moved on." She looked back to Laya. "He had such a hard time, being rejected and all." She gestured to Laya. "I'm sure you know." Laya raised an eyebrow, suddenly curious.

"What? Who was he rejected by?" Mo'at looked at Laya, a question on her face. "You don't know what happened?" Mo'at started to circle Laya again. She looked tastelessly down at her tail, a small frown on her face.

"Don't know what?" Laya turned around to face her. Mo'at just made a clicking noise in her mouth and shook her head. Then she walked to Tuk, scooping the young girl up, and walking away from Laya.

Laya stood there, speechless. Then she felt something poke her arm and she turned around. Neteyam smiled at her and pecked her cheek.

"Hey" He said to her. He noticed the look on her face and put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" Laya swallowed and looked up at him. "Yeah-" Her voice cracked. "I'm fine.." Neteyam didn't want to press anything, so he just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked them forward.

"So.. what did Tuk show you? Is there anything left in the village that you haven't seen?" Laya looked down. "No, she hasn't shown me everything." Neteyam smiled. "Okay good, let's go."

Then he spent the next hour showing her all the different structures and areas.

"This is where I beat Lo'ak in a duel with our real spears for the first time." He puffed his chest. "It was easy, he was way shorter than I was. Also weaker." Laya smiled, but turned and nudged him.

"Hey 'teyam." She faced him. He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "So serious" He teased her. She didn't laugh but just swallowed. Neteyam's smile disappeared and looked at her seriously. "What's wrong?" He asked her, resting his hand on her arm. Laya looked down, but tried to seem normal.

"I met your grandma." Laya bit the inside of her cheek and looked at Neteyam, whose face had an understanding look. "She was fine.. it's just.." She paused. "She mentioned something." Neteyams eyes flicked up. "Mentioned what?" His voice carried a tone of defensiveness.

"It's not a big deal... just that you were rejected and that you took it hard. Then she said something about me not knowing something?" Neteyam looked down, suddenly understanding what she was talking about. "Oh.. yeah.." He let go out of her arm and ran his hands through his hair. "It's kind of a long story." He tried to read Laya's face, but she didn't react. Not saying anything, Laya waited for him to continue.

He cleared his throat. "Okay so basically... I met this girl." He started. Already Laya had a feeling twinge in her gut. "I had a huge crush on her. Huge." He looked at Laya, trying to read her expression.

"We would hang out constantly, we were inseparable." He looked down. "She was the girl in the picture." Laya nodded. "And one day, I asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend. She said no, obviously." He looked up at Laya.

"I was crushed. Wouldn't take my pictures of her down. That's why her picture was there in my room." He continued. "Then, a couple weeks later, I was in the forest. I heard a voice that I thought was hers asking me to mate. I believed it and she grabbed my braid." Laya could see where this was leading to and looked away.

"I stopped it when I realized it wasn't her. It was stupid. My family still makes fun of me for it." Neteyam raised his hand to Laya's face and forced her to look at him.

"But hey, that was a long time ago. My grandma probably just said that to see how'd you react. I'm in love with you, I always will be." He smiled at her. She digested this information and thought for a moment.

"Why didn't you tell me who she was when I asked about the picture?" Neteyam let out a breath.

"I-" He paused. "I know how hard it is to start in a new place. I didn't want to make anything harder for you." Laya looked down. "I just don't want to be clueless like that again." Neteyam nodded and squeezed her arm.

"I'm sorry. I promise, it'll never happen again." Laya nodded. Neteyam embraced her and kissed her cheek. She embraced him back and rested her head against his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head.

"I love you Laya." She turned to the side so her cheek rested against his chest and smiled.

"I love you too."

Neteyam lifted her chin and kissed her. "Plus you're hot." He backed his lips from hers. "Really hot.." He looked her up and down. She giggled and kissed him again, going on her tippy toes. He smiled against her lips and rested his hands on her waist.

Unnoticed by the two, a certain girl was walking back from the forest with a basket in her hands. She immediately saw the two, who were enthralled by each other, and her eyes widened.

She instantly recognized the boy who had asked her out, the same boy who she had had a crush on ever since he left. His leaving made her want him even more.

An angry look on her face formed, and she suddenly couldn't breathe. He knew she wanted him, even when he had asked her out. She was just playing hard to get.

How dare he kiss another girl?