The Rabbit's Den

Rabbits are social creatures

Trixie was sitting in the tall corn stalks, some relief to this Indian Summer. She wasn't exactly hiding, she just wasn't ready to deal with the recoil of her actions. Surely Milly and Jacque, maybe even Kaleb's parents were looking to talk with her. Was he the kind to tattle? Run off to mommy and daddy, explain how the little girl had cleaned his clock? She would defiantly have a lot of extra responsibilities for a while, leaving no time to study all the books Jacque had brought her. She was so tired, the heat and lack of sleep last night was making her feel heavy.

Then she heard it, the sound of the stocks moving against one another as someone made their way through the corn. She held her breath and waited for it, surely a stern disappointed Milly was headed straight to her. But it wasn't Milly, or Jacque, it was Kaleb. She looked up at him, his swollen eye was beginning to darken. This was the first time she hadn't seen him with the stupid overly confident smile on his face. Gingerly he sat down next to her.

"Hey, I didn't know Ryan was your little brother." His eyes still had not left hers. "Is that supposed to be an apology? He's 12, he believes everything you say." Her words weren't mean, but her tone was harsh. "No, that wasn't my apology. I'm sorry I didn't know he was that impressionable." His hands were now idly fiddling with a pebble on the ground. "He kept me up all night, asking all kinds of questions. Most these kids barely have had a glance in an encyclopedia." The reality hit Kaleb as she said this. "I'm sorry I didn't think of that."

She shifted her body towards him. "Ryan was almost three when we came here. He doesn't know anything but the Den. The world we grew up in is so much scarier to him, right now the only things he should be scared of it the people out there." Kaleb nodded, "I understand." Her gaze on him relaxed, "Did you tell on me?" His brows furrowed as he smiled, "No, why would I do that?" Shrugging she sighed, "I didn't know if you would." Dropping the pebble and brushing his hands against one another he laughed, "If you would talk to me, you'd already know I wouldn't." She shrunk down inside, he was probably right.

"Why are you out here?" The question confused him, "Zach said you would come out here or by the river to be alone." Rephrasing the question she started again, "Yes, but why are you out here?" There it was his over confident smile again, "I want to be your friend." Her brain couldn't process this, she didn't have friends, she had Ryan. "Why?" There was nothing hostile in her tone, really just disbelief. "I like you." He laughed at the question. "How the hell do you like someone who just laid you out in front of everyone?" It was an honest question, maybe he was suffering from a concussion. "You had a valid reason Trixie!" "Because I'm tired?" He smiled again, "Because I scared your little brother. It was kind of valiant," he shook his head in disbelief then added, "Rabbits can be fierce in the right conditions."

"I don't have any friends Kaleb, I kind of like it that way." Again her tone wasn't nasty, just matter-of-fact. "Okay, but I want to be your friend." "I don't like you Kaleb." He laughed again, "You don't even know me." "You're like a peacock, feathers fanned out dancing around like an idiot." This made him laugh harder, "And you're an enigma. I bet you're really not that interesting." Surprised flushed her face, "Well you're overconfident and pushy." "And you're mean and childish." He retorted. She glared at him for a second, "Your accent annoys me." He threw his head back and laughed, "That's impossible, everyone loves the Australian accent. It's fun and dignified!" There was that confidence that got under her skin. "You're not going to leave me alone are you?" Smiling he replied, "Nope, I'll annoy you until you give up out of sheer exhaustion."

That's how the last ten years had gone, of course Trixie usually enjoyed his company, when he wasn't being insufferable. There were plenty of kids that came and went that were their age, being the social butterfly he was Kaleb made friends with them all. With his bronze completion and striking dark eyes and hair, he was really popular with the girls. That's when the peacock came out in him. Puffed up and pretty, he could say any dumb thing and they were putty in his hands. Over the years she watched this display go on, wondering just how dumb teenage girls could be.

"Kaleb what's with the cat and mouse game?" She finally asked, really just out of sheer curiosity. Giving her his best 'I'm charming smile' he said, "Waiting for the right girl to come along." Shortly before her 18th birthday was the first time he had kissed her. They had been sitting on the bank waiting for Ryan to come out so they could all cool off in the river. He hadn't been his usual confident self, he was nervous and fidgety. "What is wrong with you today?" She asked slightly annoyed. Then he did it, grabbing her face lightly with his sandy hands and leaning in. Quickly his lips lightly touched hers, but only for a second before he recoiled like a snake. He studied her for a moment wide eyed.

She brushed the sand off her chin and scrunched her face at him, "Don't do that Kaleb it's not funny." There was no smile on his face, "It wasn't meant to be funny Trix." Ryan appeared, making his way down from the Den, "No, really Kaleb I'm not one of your play things." His jaw dropped slightly, he was going to protest, but knew arguing with Trixie would get him nowhere but her bad side.

But he didn't give up, he had no real experience with having to actually work for anyone's attention before. Any time he thought it was the right time, Trixie would swat him, or push him away. Always angrily saying that he was being dumb, or telling him it wasn't fair. The problem with Trixie was she knew him, once you peeled away the charisma that was Kaleb, it was clear that he didn't have much to offer. He liked to drink, rough house, and screw around. As long as he was a friend it was safe for him to act like a jackass, but she didn't want to be a part of his games.

One night burned particularly hard in his memory, it had just snowed. Heavy and wet the stuff had come down with a vengeance for most of the day. Now it was tapering off, little specks caught the light as they slowly spun around before landing softly on the ground. They had been standing at a large glass door in the back of the Den that looked out on the now barren fields. Taking the chance he put his arm around her, she stood contently watching. Not trying to be too forward, but also making sure it wasn't just a friendly gesture he pulled her over and kissed the spot on her jaw below her ear. Her arm flew up pushing him aside, "Knock it off."

Frustrated he demanded why? "I live here Kaleb." He looked at her confused. "All these other girls you screw around with come and go. I fucking live here. I have to see you every day. You break their hearts, they move on. You pull your bull shit with me I'm stuck seeing your dumb face until the day I die. Max is the only girl that's still here, and that's because she's sick. I won't do it Kaleb." He twitched slightly, "It can be different." She tilted her head, did he really not understand? "You're a giant kid Kaleb. You're selfish, rude, you don't think before you do anything and since you have been here you really haven't improved yourself in anyway. You don't even listen to me when I tell you things."

"Like what?" He asked dumbfounded. "I've asked you countless times to stop for one." She stated looking annoyed. "AND?" "What's my hobby Kaleb?" He blinked at her. "What am I always studying?" Again no response. "Five years Kaleb, you have known me. You can't tell me anything about me. What's my dad's name, his profession, where did he leave me, what do I have nightmares about every night, how long did Ryan have to sleep in my bed?" As he stood there he realized she was right, he really didn't know anything about her. In five years he hadn't learned anything about her either, she wasn't an open book, but she never hid anything. "Not me Kaleb, I'm not stupid."