Republic of Omisha

Chapter 17: Clay

   He watches Eliza make an apologetic expression. She blames herself for putting them all in detention. She isn't to blame for Clay's fight. He made his own justified choices and he was ready to pay the price.

Clay finds himself intrigued by Eliza. She is one of a kind and there are rumors, that she is unaware of, that she is leader material. If they can get her emotionally stable, they hope to preen her to be be the next leader.

He wonders what's going on inside her head. Every time he sees her she acts differently. Right now she's nervous. She usually covers up her vulnerability by acting tough, but Clay can see right through that. Now she makes no effort to disguise her vulnerable side. He feels honored that she is letting him see the real Eliza, past her PTSD.

He doesn't know what she wants because she's too nervous to speak. How can he make her more comfortable? I know, thinks Clay, we just need a change of scenery or to change our environment.

"Do want to go to the gym wing?" Let's see how competitive she can be.

Eliza nods.

It takes Clay's hand gently placed on the small of her back to prompt her to walk forward. They decide to run a few laps around the track. "Two miles?" Eliza asks as they stretch.

"Two?" Clay isn't much of a distance runner.

Eliza smirks. "If that's to easy for you we could do three."

"No, no, two is good."

"I thought you were a runner." Eliza taunts. "For the youngest runner you seem to be having trouble keeping up to a girl."

"Yeah, I was-am a runner. A sprinter."

Upon completing their fourth lap, Clay is beat. He is gasping uncontrollably and he is doubled over with his hands supported on his legs. He looks at Eliza, who stopped with him. She is unfazed by the running besides being a little red in the face.

Eliza smiles holding back a chuckle. "What?" Clay can't help to ask.

"I thought you were a runner." She says in a condescending tone through giggles.

"Hey, that was five years ago, and I'm a sprinter." Clay can't help but join in her laughter. Her smile melts to Clay's core. She's adorable. "So how is it that you, oh Clever One, is so good at running?"

"I used to..." Her voice fades along with her smile. "My Mother used to take me on runs in the woods. She sparked my love for it, so after she passed I continued doing it." She cracks a smile.

Clay smiles and stands up straight to get a clearer look at Eliza. He unconsciously steps forward toward her. He accidentally stands too long looking into her eyes. She breaks it off and he feels embarrassed. Now he's desperate to come up with a distraction.

"What else do you want to do?"

She shrugs.

"Do you like archery?"

"Never tried it."

He leads Eliza down to the archery range. He casually tries to show off by "demonstrating" how to use a bow. He hits the target square in the middle.

Eliza picks up a bow and draws back an arrow. She fires just rarely missing the target. After a few more tries with little luck, Clay stands behind her and wraps his arms around her to position her arms.

"Here, try this," and Clay holds the outside of her right hand next to her mouth and he slides his other hand down her left arm to her shoulder blades to get her to straighten. She fires and hits the edge of the inner circle on the target.

He sees a big grin appear on her face. She seems to petit when he is so close to her. She turns around dropping the bow when she realizes how close they are to each other. She stares straight forward and her eyes meet in the center of his chest.

Clay peers down at her and she slowly lifts her gaze. Now he finds his hands resting on her shoulders. As she reaches her arms around his broad shoulders he bends over and their lips meet. He slides his hands down to her hips and plants them there. She stands on her tiptoes to make their mouths meet.