That's Why They Call it the Unexpected

You Smell Good (El's P.O.V.)

As soon as I slammed the door behind me I took off running. I didn't care where I ended up at, as long as I was far away from him. I was on the road where we drove in, so I knew I must be about to pass the new lodge. That's when the panic set in. I mean, what if Derek tells the director I punched him? I'll probably get kicked out if he tells. I groan quite loudly to myself, seeing as there's no one else around to hear me. Ugh. What have I gotten myself into? I definitely don't regret hitting him, though, because DAMN that felt good! I wish I had had the nerve to do that right after the Incident. At this point I'm almost at the tree-line. All of a sudden I hear a male voice yell out, "EL!"

Shit! Are they already coming to kick me out?!? I started running a little faster. Well, they're going to have to find me first if they're kicking me out. Now I'm full out sprinting, running deeper into the trees than I already am.

"SLOW DOWN!" yells out the same voice. Wait, is that… Tyler? I slow down a bit, but only to a jog. That's enough for him to catch up to me, though. I have to admit, he's a pretty fast runner. Usually even at a jog I'm ahead of most of the guys at school. Plus, he must work out a fair bit, because damn does he look hot! I start blushing and turn away so he doesn't see and ask me why I'm blushing. That would be embarrassing.

'Bad El! No thinking like that! You've barely known the guy for two hours, and you're already drooling over him?!' I think to myself. 'Remember the rule we made after the Incident? NO MORE GUYS!! They will only hurt you.'

Unwanted memories come back when I think about the Incident, and before I can push them away I relive a couple of them. I can tell that I've been crying for a while now. I'm also walking now. Just seeing Derek… it makes me feel like my heart is being ripped out all over again. 'Focus El. Just calm down and focus on your feet, the trees passing by, anything but that,' I think to myself.

I like that Tyler doesn't try to force me into talking; he just lets me run it all out. I sense that he does the same thing too when he needs to get away – just runs as far and as fast as he can without looking back. I'm still crying. Memories from the Incident… well let's just say that it takes me a while to calm down.

"Thanks," I say, but I can't manage to get above a whisper. My chest is starting to ache; not from all the running, just from the pain in my heart.

"It's no problem. We better follow the trail back, though, before I have to use my ninja skills to find our way back," Ty says in a lame attempt to cheer me up. I try to smile, I really do, but I just can't do it. Only the corner of my mouth pulls up. I nod my head and we turn around – back the way we came.

He stopped me when we got to the end of the tree-line. Gently, he asked, "What did he do to you El?"

A fresh pain tears through my heart. I want to tell him, but I can't. I'm just not ready. "I can't talk about it. I'm sorry." Ty pulled me into a hug.

He whispered into my ear, "And I'm sorry for whatever he did to you, even if you can't tell me." I closed my eyes and let a few tears slip out. I'm really grateful that he doesn't pressure me into telling him what happened. I stayed in the comfort of his arms for a few more seconds before pulling away. The look on his face was almost… disappointed? No… that can't be right.

He looked a little panicked as he said quickly, "I'm sorry if that was totally inappropriate right there. Considering we're pretty much strangers."

"No, no," I protested. "I needed that. Thank you."

"My pleasure. Shall we?" he asked as he gestured to the camp with his hand. I took a deep breath before I nodded. Time to face the real world.

As soon as we were close enough for people to see us, we went our separate ways. There's no point in having rumours being spread on the first day. I was looking over towards my cabin when I heard a noise. I turned just in time to see Tyler falling on his ass. I started giggling uncontrollably. Smooth. I mean, how do you miss seeing a tree in your way? A tree?