WELCOME TO TRENCH

I'm Just A Ghost

CLANCY'S POV

We continue walking until we reach a little storehouse. I make sure no one is looking, then carefully snatch three apples, and a bag of Pogo Peanuts for Ned to snack on. He seems to have taken a liking to the girl. Every time she gets even remotely close to him, he grins and tries his best to stay close. Meanwhile, I can tell she is a little freaked out. All of a sudden, I realize something. She and I haven't really introduced each other. She probably knows Josh's name, because I said it earlier, but that would be about it.

The four of us stop at an abandoned hut on a small hill and decide to bunk there for now. As we get settled inside, I try to think of what to say to start off the conversation. Before I can say anything, the girl calls out to me.

"Hey Clance! Can you pass me an apple?"

I do a double take. "Wait so...you do know my name?" I say in confusion.

She looks at me. "Well I kinda assumed... I heard Josh call you that earlier. That is your name right?"

"Yeah, for the most part. Clance is just a nickname. My full name is Clancy though. What's yours?"

"Orchid." I smile and toss her the apple. It misses her outstretched hand by at least two inches and she giggles a little. "Ew, I sound like a 12-year-old schoolgirl."

I smile. "Nah. It sounded somewhat...cute." I look away before she can see my face turn red. Did I really just say that? I pretend to be extremely invested in eating my apple, but I can hear her quietly laughing across from me.

ORCHID'S POV

I can't help laughing after that comment. Once I'm finally done, I manage to get out, "Is that supposed to be your flirting technique?"

Clancy looks back up and suddenly gets serious. "No, I- I didn't mean- I mean- I do-" he stops, sighing and looking away again.

I cock my head at his mysterious behavior. "What? Ya scared of a little commitment?" I ask, playfully punching his shoulder. Clancy jerks away suddenly and doesn't respond. I realize I must've hit a nerve or something, so I try to fix it. "Hey look, I'm sorry if I offended you man-"

"N-no, it's- it's n-nothing. Can we just, like, forget about this conversation?" Clancy says before getting up and walking away. I let it go. Maybe I don't wanna know his dating history anyway.

JOSH'S POV

I watch the conversation in amused silence. I can tell the two of them are hitting it off...nicely to say the least. But something pulls at my mind and won't let me be at peace. I have a secret to hide, from both of them. It won't affect Orchid very much, but Clancy will be really upset. I keep thinking I should say something, but I don't want to make him feel more horrible than he already does about Nico being a part of him. Plus, me saying anything at all would expose Clancy's alterego to a second person. And I would never do that to him-at least, until he's comfortable with it.

Later that day, we decide to build a fire a little ways from the hut and camp out for the evening. Clancy and Orchid find a few sticks on the ground to start the blaze, but it's not enough to keep it burning, so Clancy volunteers to go try and find more firewood. Meanwhile, Orchid s