Safe Harbor

| 18 |

"Oh, Alex, how long are you going to keep trying to avoid me?" A familiar voice calls from right behind me, as I bend over to tie my shoelace. I nearly jump, but manage to keep it together, surprisingly. Her voice drips with amusement, and I halfheartedly wonder if it's too late to run away.

"I'm not avoiding you, Indy, "I say genuinely, standing upright once more to meet the brown-skinned girl face on. I'm just a very busy lad," I explain quickly, watching her eyebrows shoot up appraisingly.

"Alex, whenever I catch your eye you look away and practically run off," she states bluntly.

"I wouldn't put it that way..." I argue, weakly, shooting her an unconvincing half-smile.

"What's this all about? I thought we were friends?" She asks, looking put off.

I panic—I never meant for her to feel like this! "We are, I promise!" I cry. "It's just—back on the ship when you—I don't really know how to act around you," I ramble, the words spurting out of my mouth almost incoherently.

Indy doesn't say anything for a moment, and I'm afraid—more than I usually am—of what she's going to do next.

Then she bursts out into raucous laughter.

"Alex, why didn't you just tell me that?" She cries, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes, still doubled over in laughter. "I mean, I know you're inexperienced and all, but I'd never imagined you'd be avoiding me because you're scared of how to act around me," she teases.

I glare at her. "I am not scared!" I reply defensively. "I'm unsure! I mean, do you blame me?" I ask, feeling a little annoyed, now. "You, a beautiful girl comes up to me, a rambling idiot unexpectedly and tell me you fancy me! I know it's a little—no, it's very much so-- pathetic, but this has never happened to me before! I don't know how to react to a situation like this because the only time I've ever been in one—" I stop abruptly, memories of fairgrounds and a lovely raven-haired girl flooding back into my mind. For a second, I can't speak—my mind is frozen, too shocked to be able to even form coherent thoughts, let alone translate them into words.

I take in a deep breath, trying to push the dark thoughts away and focus on Indy. When I manage to clear my head and look at her, I falter once more. She's absolutely shocked—her lips parted, her eyes concerned, trained on me in utter surprise. For the first time since I've met the fearless tan-skinned girl, she's speechless.

"Listen, I'm sorry," I say, looking her in the eyes without fear. It feels like our roles have reversed—I'm the one speaking confidently this time, and she's the one that remains reserved and quiet. "I guess in some ways, you're right. I am afraid, in some degree, because I'm afraid of messing up, I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing. I don't want to ruin our friendship," I continue, earnestly, stepping closer to her so she can see my sincerity. "You, Jean-Luc, the others... We started this together. Whether we like it or not, we're more connected to each other than we are to the others here, and that's not going to change. I don't want our friendship to change, you see? So yeah, I am afraid," I state again. My voice is clear and confident, which surprises me a little. "But I'm not afraid of you," I continue, shooting her a genuine half-smile.

I wait for Indy to respond again, but she's still dumbfounded. Panic begins to settle in again.

"Er... Indy?" I say cautiously.

At the sound of her own name, she seems to snap out of her stupor. "I'm sorry," she begins honestly, her voice low and sincere. "I didn't mean it like that," she explains. "And I get it. You're right, all of us do share a bond here, and I'd be stupid to want to break that."