The Banditos

The Confession

"Um..."

I don't know what to say. I kind of like him, but I don't want the Banditos to bug me about it.

The Banditos around me are dead silent, waiting for an answer.

Clancy is still standing right in front of me, his eyes locked on mine. He's trying to hide it, but there's a hint of nervousness in his expression. This question is clearly important to him.

"Yeah."

Clancy's eyes widen slightly, and there's a flicker of surprise on his face. The other Banditos start to whisper and murmur, their eyes darting between the two of us.

Clancy glances at them for a moment, then looks back at me. His expression is a mixture of shock and happiness, but he doesn't quite seem to know what to say.

"But even if we wanted to, we can't date. Torchbearer probably wouldn't allow it."

Clancy nods, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Yeah...dating in the camp isn't really a thing. Or at least, not among Banditos," he says, "There are rules against it, something about distraction from the cause, I think."

"My dad doesn't allow me to date anyways," I said.

Clancy raises an eyebrow.

"Your dad doesn't let you date?" he asks, "Why not?"

"He's a Bishop, remember?"

How could he have forgotten?

"Ah...right," he says, "Your dad's a Bishop. That explains a lot."

"Yeah. Anyways, we should get to our jobs," I said.

Clancy nods in agreement, and the other Banditos start to wander off, still muttering amongst themselves.

"Yeah, good idea," he says, gesturing to follow him, "Let's get going."

I followed him.

Clancy leads the way out of camp, moving quickly and with purpose. He looks a little distracted after what just happened back at the fire, but he's trying to stay focused on the task at hand.

As I follow him, I notice that he glances at me every now and then, his expression thoughtful.

"You good?", I asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," he says, "Why do you ask?"

"You keep looking at me."

He averts his eyes, looking away for a moment.

"Oh, uh...yeah, sorry," he says, "I guess I was just...distracted."

Clancy glances at me again, his expression a little sheepish.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I was just...thinking, I guess," he says, "About what happened back there. And what you said."

"Oh. Right.. They were pressuring me into admitting that I liked you."

Clancy nods, his expression turning a little serious.

"Yeah, I could tell," he says, "I don't know why they're being like that. It's not like they have any right to say who we're supposed to like."

"Right.." I sighed as I walked beside him.

Clancy glances down as we walk together. He hesitates for a moment, then his hand brushes against mine, his fingers moving until our fingers are intertwined.

I looked down for a second, but didn't really care. His fingers were warm.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Clancy's lips. His hand stays intertwined with mine for a while, the two of us walking along the path.