The Best Of Both: Camp Cretaceous OC

Into the Fog

Max sat out on the stairs of the front porch, deep in thought as he stared at his feet, listening to the muffled music and voices that emanated from inside the house. The sun had set, leaving the neighbourhood in a quiet darkness, making it the perfect place to think about...everything.

Max sighed as he put his hand to his head, rubbing it as another wave of stress washed over him. "What a mess," he whispered to himself.

He heard the front door open and the footsteps of a person walking out. "Hey, what are you doing out here?" Yasmina asked, stepping down the stairs and sitting next to him, nudging him with her shoulder.

"Just thinking," Max answered half heartedly.

"About?" She asked.

Max sighed. If he was being honest, he wasn't really sure what he was thinking about particularly, He just really felt the need to get his thoughts in order. "I don't know," he answered. "Just all kinds of things, I guess".

Yasmina offered him a warm smile. "Come on, it's my birthday. Come back inside, hang out with us, its freezing out here".

"I know, here I am bringing you down," Max turned to her and gave her a smile of his own, and suddenly, gazing into her eyes, he had a lot to say. "I'm sorry," he said. Yasmina raised an eyebrow, tilting her head in confusion. "I'm sorry I agreed to work for Claire. I just...thought I'd be able to help both the Dinosaurs, and you and your mom. I felt like it was an obligation, not just with Mount Sibo looking like its about to blow, but also the fact that you've both done so much for me, I knew had to pay all that back somehow. I thought that going out and proving I was making my way in the world was a sure way of doing that, but instead, I just hurt you".

Yasmina sighed, her hand landing on his shoulder. "You didn't hurt me. It just took me by surprise that you were suddenly going out into the world so soon, I guess I just wasn't quite ready to not see you everyday".

Max felt his cheeks warm as he looked away, her words sending a bolt through his stomach. How was it, that even after years of spending time together, she still had this effect on him?

"I guess, I just missed you is all," she said.

Max nodded as he looked over to her again, leaning forward ever so slightly. "I missed you too".

Yasmina suddenly grabbed his face and pulled him into a gentle kiss, one that Max gladly reciprocated instantly. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was filled with as much meaning as they both could muster.

As they separated, looking at each other, their noses less than an inch away, something...new seemed to bloom between them. Max felt it, deep within himself, it bubbled up and filled his being with this new feeling, and from Yasmina's expression, she was feeling something similar.

There was a new kind of light that had begun to show between them, though neither one knew how to act on it just yet.

Max took a deep breath, pressing his forehead to hers before breaking away from her completely. Yasmina followed his lead, letting out a deep breath as she had just come down from a high. Max coughed, clearing his throat as he shook some strange thoughts from his head.

Yasmina turned her head back to the house and pointed inside. "Hey, Brooklynn's suggesting we play Charades inside. Want to be on my team?" She offered.

"You bet".

0O0

Yasmina kept her eyes trained on the truck ahead of her, keeping the jeep she was driving as far back as possible so she could only just see it. If they were lucky, whoever was driving it wouldn't see them in their mirror if they kept this distance. Yasmina had no choice but to stay focused, and not just because she was driving. If she allowed her thoughts to wander too much, her mind always went back to Max and what he must be doing right now.