Runaway

V

"Put your arm over my shoulder. It's a long walk back and you're gonna need all the support you can get." I slung his arm over my shoulder, feeling his weight shift onto me.

"It hurts like hell." He looked at me with a worried look in his eyes. "I don't think I can make it 2 hours without breaking your shoulder."

"So, what do you want to do?" I ask carefully setting him down against a tree.

"I don't know. I just think if we walk back I'm gonna make it worse." He shrugs while looking up at me.

"How about you rest it for a little longer. We have all day to get you back."

I guess a few more hours with him won't hurt. It feels nice to have some sort of company. The last time I really spent time with someone was way back before everything happened. Damn, it feels great to have someone to talk to.

I slump down next to him and start fiddling with a stray leaf that had fallen on my lap. He rested his head on my shoulder and I tensed up.

"Relax. You don't have to be so uptight all the time." He sighed.

"But I do." I sighed back and started tearing up the leaf.

"But you don't." He argued back.

Oh, game on.

"But I do. That's all I know." A tear fell down my cheek but I wiped it away before he could notice.

"Then learn to know something else." He took my hand in his.

"That will get me in trouble." I retorted as I quickly pull my hand away.

"Look at you. You've created this secret place that's not visible to the naked eye. Having a little fun won't give you away." He took my hand back in his and this time I didn't fight it.

"They're smart. You don't know what having a little fun could get me into. It's not worth the risk." I sighed and rested my head back against the tree.

"Who's 'They'?" He looks up at me questioningly.

"'They' are nothing you need to worry about. It's my business, not yours." I frown and turn my head away.

He didn't say a word after that. We sat there for a while just enjoying each other's presence and
the nature surrounding us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About a half an hour of silence passed before either of us spoke.

"Do you want to go down to the lake for a swim?" He looked up at me, lifting his head up from my shoulder.

"If you can't walk how do you expect to swim?" I question him.

"I don't need to 'swim' necessarily. Maybe the cold water will feel good on my ankle." He responded as he started getting up.

I beat him to it so I could help him up. He shifted half of his weight onto me as we made our way to the lake.

The river where we sat last night fed into the lake, which was only about a 5 minute walk from that spot. It wasn't too big but it was gorgeous. Definitely one of my favorite places.

We made it down to the lake and he let go of me. I set my bag down and when I looked up I saw Dakota pulling his shirt off, revealing his toned muscles. I caught myself staring before he turned to look at me. His stripped his pants down, leaving him in just his underwear, and awkwardly hopped into the river.

"You coming in?" He shouted, waving his arm gesturing for me to follow.

"Yeah, yeah." I reply leaving my everything on except for my shorts. My teeshirt was long enough to cover my underwear but I wasn't comfortable with taking it off.

I casually jogged over to the waterfront and let the water trickle against my toes. Oh, my. It was very cold. 

"What are you waiting for?" He let out a laugh as he sent a huge splash of water my way.

"Dakota! Don't do that, it's so cold!" I frowned and crossed my arms.

He let out a laugh and made his way towards me.

"W-what are you doing?" I furrowed my brows as he threw me over his shoulder. I let out a playful scream and hit my fist against his back.

"Let me down!" I yell as he carried me deeper into the water.

He dunked me into the freezing cold water and let out a laugh after seeing my reaction. I jumped up and crossed my arms, shivering as loud as I could.

I glared at him as I splashed him in the face to get revenge.

"Hey!" I yelled as he splashed me back. "Two can play this game.." I smirked and splashed him back.

After a bit of a splash fight he fell back in the water letting out a genuine laugh.

"See, you know how to have fun!" He smiled at me as I crossed my arms.

"Yeah, whatever." He walks over to me and scoops me into his arms. I tense up as he tucks my hair behind my ears.

He brought me back onto shore and set me down. He sat down next to me.

"Are you cold?" He asked as he noticed me shivering.

"Aren't you?" I retort.

He reaches into his bag and pulls out a sweater.

"Here." He smiles as he wraps the sweater around me.

"Thanks." I let out a smile, not hiding it this time.

He gazes at me for a while. "You should smile more. It looks good on you."