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‘I'd like that, when does your shift end? Its not like I have to go there now, have plenty of daylight to kill anyway."’ Ravi said as he took a swig of his juice, enjoying the thick, tangy and acidic taste of one of his favorite drinks in the world.

"Probably going back to the lake, explore the wood lands a bit I guess, try and enjoy the scenery." Ravi said with a shrug, soon finishing the orange juice that Sophie as just refilled. He put the cup down in front of him as she grabbed his empty plate from the counter. Ravi watched her clean in silence, but soon couldn't help but burst put laughing when she questioned him about his "interest" in Charlie, if he was gay. Ravi took no offense to he question on accusation, he found it slightly refreshing.

"Ha, gay, of courses not.‘’ Ravi said holding his stomach as he calmed down from laughing. ‘I'm just an observant person, I like to have an answer, a reason for things on the world around me, that was just me giving an answer to something I found unusual, no doubt I still hate people like him." Ravi explained, wiping away a tear from his eye.

"I'm flattered you see me as one of the good guys, I assure you though, I'm not gay.‘’ Ravi said reassuringly as he leaned back in his seat, and definitely enjoyable topic to talk about.

---

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Avalon smirked as one of the twins came up and introduced himself as Gage. She smiled, batted her eyes and ran a finger seductively down Gage's front, looking him dead in the eye as she introduced herself. "Avalon, Avalon Jones. Maybe we can hang out tonight, just the two of us." She smiled and blew him a kiss before strutting down the steps and towards the rest of the group.

"Yeah so for those of you who don't know me, I'm Avalon," she said to the others with a wave. She turned her head back to look at Gage and smiled. She'd only been in town for a day and she already had two very hot teenagers who she could sink her teeth into and if she was being quite honest, she was overjoyed.

---

Gage feels his heart pick up speed when Avalon runs her finger down his front. This girl....This girl is trouble and he can't say he doesn't like it. Part of him wonders if he can handle her while the other part does't really care. He smiles at her. "Maybe" He watches he turn to the others and can't help but shake his head as he walks back to his Brother who has the stupidest grin on his face. "Shut it" A chuckle escapes Aron. "I didn't say anything" Aron gets a small shove from Gage before they regroup and focus on Alyssa.

"A bear" Both twins cross their arms. "You are insane, but sure we'd help" Gage's face seems to say otherwise...more of the why the hell would you be fighting a bear type of face.

Sophie felt her face and the tips of her ears burn with embarrassment as her cheeks turned a bright red. Though she knew that he was not laughing at her to make fun of her, she could help but feel embarrassed and ashamed; she desperately wanted to run and hide where nobody could find her and just stay there until she disappears.

Sophie looked away with an upset expression. "I-I won't be out for a while so you should just go on ahead. T-the other teens should be heading to the lake soon. You said you wanted to go explore the area, right? You should run into them there. Why don't you go on ahead and talk to the girls there and get drunk with them, and leave me alone like everyone else? I... I-I'm sorry but I don't have time for this... " Her voice trembled then slammed the bill on the counter in front of him. She then went to go collect the dirty dishes from the other tables and dumped them into the sink, before going to the back to be alone where she couldn't be seen. Once out of sight, she pulled up a stool near the back wall and sat down, covering her face with her hands and hugging herself tightly until the embarrassment passed or he left.

While she sat, she felt a sudden large, sharp, familiar pain in her chest. She clenched her chest as she found it starting to get difficult to breathe. She broke out into another coughing fit, this time more violent than the last. It was the early symptoms of a seizure.

---

Charlotte shot out of her bed, crashing into her dresser and landing on her side in wolf form before slowly shifting back into her human form. Her heart pounded and her mind raced, a bead of sweat running down her forehead. She groaned, slowly pushing herself back up from the floor, breathing in deeply before walking over to her bathroom “Just a dream….just a dream..” she whispered to herself, reaching into the shower and turning the water on. She looked into the mirror and removed her shirt, leaving just her bra on underneath. The wolf bite scar still traced her rib cage, a faint white line running from front to back around her side.

Ten minutes later she stepped out from the searing hot shower and turned the water off. Charlotte’s skin was red from head to toe for a minute, before it slowly faded back to it’s normal color. Light burns took next to no time to heal, coming to the point where she would purposely shower in overly hot water just to feel something different for once. She looked herself up and down in the mirror before covering up with a towel and pacing back to her bedroom to get changed.

She walked out to her car slowly before stopping abruptly. Something was off. She looked around, listening with a trained ear for threats. “Charlotte, relax…you’re just flustered and paranoid.” she continued to her car, pushing the bad thoughts from her head as she started up the car. The V8 engine roared to life and she backed out of the driveway, squealing the tires as she roared down the road.

Charlotte pulled into the Café parking lot and froze in her seat. She knew exactly what was wrong. She ripped the keys out and jumped out of her car, running inside to find Sophie on the ground in distress. She kneeled at her side, putting a hand on her shoulder and blocking her from Ravi’s view. “Sophie, its alright. I’m here.” she dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone, dialing the hospital.

“This is Edwards, get me an FR bag and defib over here asap. No, I do not want you to call an ambulance instead. Damn it, just bring me the bag!” she hung up the phone, tossing it aside.

She turned back to Ravi, her eyes filled with slight confusion and frustration “What happened?” she voice was partially angered and mostly panicked. Despite being a doctor, seeing Sophie in this state wasn’t easy and she was losing her cool.

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Gloria had paused for a moment as she heard the soft roaring of a car pulling up, glancing back to see a woman who'd she'd instantly describe as both beautiful and cute - just having one of those faces. They had exchanged looks for a brief moment before the wiccan returned to the task at hand, shrugging slightly to herself. She didn't expect for the woman to come greet her anyways, so she kept on taking notes for just a few more moment. Before long however, she clasped the notebook closed and went to the middle of the circle, examining it, and adding one more detail - a solid circle in the middle.

Nodding with satisfaction, she whispered a incantation under her breath, then a sudden gust of wind to rushed past her as if from nowhere. The wind blew the symbols drawn into the dirt away and Gloria just stood there for several seconds, her eyes closed in concentration. Her eyes shut wide open again though as if she suddenly realized something, spinning around on her heels and staring straight at Ana, giving the woman an examining gaze. Pursing her lips for a moment, her sight found the sun before walking towards the other woman, sweeping up her notebook on her way over. "Um, excuse me..." she spoke up.

Anastasia glanced towards the redhead seeing her looking at her for a moment and smiled towards her, she was rather cute she thought. Ana took a step back and ran a hand through her hair as her feet dug down into the dirt and sat down, she looked out towards the lake it was rather soothing and relaxing to her. She felt a sudden gust of wind going through her hair, looking towards Gloria once more as she stood up. Ana could hear some sort of incantation but couldn't truly make out any of the words.

A few seconds later Gloria started to take a few steps closer towards her carrying a notebook, Anastasia looked up at Gloria covering a hand over her eyes as the sun shined on them. "Can I help you?" Anastasia asked.

With hesitation, Gloria actually chose to lower herself onto the ground as well, so Ana didn't need to cover her eyes, smiling, and yet still focusing on her. "Yes, you can, um... it might seem like a random question and I don't exactly mean to be rude, but may I ask... are you new here too?" Gloria gave Ana a soft smile at that, getting more relaxed as she crossed her legs, setting her notebook in her lap - her eyes never leaving Ana.

Ana continued to hold Gloria's gaze as she sat down next to her, she smiled softly at Gloria's question and gave her a quick nod. "Yes I am, I bought a house here about a week ago I just came into town today." Anastasia answered as she crossed her legs and leaned herself backwards. "I'm guessing you moved here as well?"

Letting out a heavy sigh, Gloria pursed her lips again for a moment, looking all around them. There was a man at the other end of the lake - trying to fish it seemed - but that wasn't really important right now. Her eyes went back to Ana, almost confused for a few moment before suddenly adorning a very gentle expression. "You remind me of someone..." she replied carefully. "But you don't seem to recognize me... or you would've said so, I'm sure. So why did you decide to move here?" It was bold and straight forward, and it wasn't because she didn't want to be pleasant company, but she always been the curious type.

She froze for a minute staring at the woman in front of her before smiling. "Why I am here? I am just looking for a place to call home." Anastasia answered leaning herself forward. "And I promise you, I don't bite."

Gloria listened intently, but then felt herself tense, almost blushing in fact as she heard Ana's promise. That was an unusually sweet gesture, considering the situation and her experience with most strangers. It didn't help that the woman had leaned forward when doing so. For a moment, Gloria broke her steady gaze to briefly glance at the ground. "Uh.. thank you.." she said softly, looking back to match her eyes. "So what do you do? I'm Gloria, by the way..." She then held out her hand to shake Ana's own.

"I am actually an author I've written quite a few books over the years. Another reason why I moved here just to help me write more, I could show you some of my work someday if you feel like it." Anastasia looked down at Gloria's hand as she extended it to her to shake, she smiled and leaned forward and gently kissed the top of Gloria's hand and looked up at her. "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Anastasia but if you want I go by Anna as well." Ana said as she gently shook Gloria's hand.

"You write books?" she asked, suddenly showing a very intense interest. "I love reading," she admitted with a gentle grin, "despite really being into video games." Finally having her hand grabbed in return, she soon felt the soft lips press against the back of her hand, causing her to blush lightly and smile shyly in return to the woman - wow, she was a flirt. "Oh.. um.. okay Anna.." She slowly pulled her hand back into her lap and rubbed where it had been kissed for a moment.

Anastasia smiled nodding towards Gloria. "I have made quite a lot of books in the past, I enjoy it a lot, and actually I can show you some of my older works or some of the stuff that I am working on right now." Anna offered, she saw Gloria blushing after the kiss which made her smile. "So why did you move here, if I may ask?" Ana asked.

Gloria just nodded a few times to the first comment only to perk slightly, again, at the mention of books. The thought made her smile, but only nodded thoughtfully in response, obviously enjoying the idea. Then things got more serious, making the her adorn a more sullen expression. "... well, it's a long story, but a big part of it is that my girlfriend had passed away..." The statement earned a sad sigh from her, forcing her to lift a hand up and brush her orange hair back. Gloria pursed her lips then and shrugged. "Since.. she was gone, I decided it was time for a new start." Her gaze found Ana's eyes for a moment and just smiled, weakly.

Anastasia looked down. She knew the feeling of losing someone that you love. She looked towards Gloria, feeling bad that she had lost someone that she loved. "I'm sorry to hear that happen to you. And I'm sure that she was a great person." Anastasia said as she gently patted Gloria on the shoulder.

"It's okay.." she replied softly and took in a deep breath. "It was some months ago. I mean, it doesn't mean I don't miss her, but... it's done and over with now. I won't forget her, but..." Gloria shrugged lightly. "I'm not going to let her memory be in vain by sulking around all day. She'd probably scold me if I did." Gloria smirked at the thought and looked to Ana. "And if you ever felt like you wanted, you'd just need to come over to my place... it's protected by some wards..." She paused then and blushes lightly. "I mean... um, of course, hehe, I could just... go to your place. Because you have your own home, of course!" Gloria shut her eyes for a moment in a moment of embarrassment. She wasn't exactly sure why she said that! Opening them again, she just smiled softly, her cheeks still a tad pink.

Anastasia blushed slightly at the offer and smiled, she was grateful for the offer to go to her house if she felt like it. "You know you are pretty cute when you blush, right?" Ana flirted. "I wouldn't mind coming over to your place or you coming over to mine if it every did come to that." Anastasia said she was glad to actually find a friend already in this new town.

"I.. I really didn't mean to be, um... so forward, or..." Gloria just sighed and rubbed her face for a moment. She gave Ana a look then, only to blush more obviously before letting out quietest huff. "... that actually might be really nice... I'd have to adjust some of my wards to let you past..." She then realized she was doing it again. "I m-mean! Um... right, just go to your place? Okay, I'm done embarrassing myself." She folded her knees to her chest and hugged them tight, half-burying her face in them, but her eyes still peeked out so she could see Ana's reaction. Gloria wasn't normally like this with new people.

Anastasia smiled. The girl was extremely cute and couldn't help but let out a soft giggle as she watched Gloria bringing her knees up to her chest and bury her head in her knees. "Well it would probably be better to do it at your place that way I could come in and visit you. That's if you want me to come over and we can hang out sometime." Anastasia suggested as she gently patted Gloria on the back and winked at her playfully once more.

Gloria pressed her face against her knees for a moment before slowly lifting it up, her face pink. "Sorry... normally, I'm not tripping over my own words so much... but yeah, that sounds fun." She smiled lightly. "Just be prepared... it's like a mix between magical arts and a nerd's video gaming lair," she added with a slight giggle. "Um, what were you doing out here anyways?" She paused in thought. "Wait. You said something about your book, right? Or am I imagining things?"

Ana smiled softly. Gloria was definitely a cute one seeing her all flustered like that. "That's totally fine with me, I won't judge what your house looks like anyway but the gaming seems pretty fun." Anastasia said, she had never played a video game before in her life which was something she was curious about. Then Gloria asked why she was out here and smiled towards her. "Just looking for inspiration to continue my writing is all." Ana answered.

Crawling slowly from her self-made shell, she reached up to pull all of her hair out of the way and let it fall back down, tucking strands of it behind her ears. "It is... I mostly got into it to escape reality... I do it a bit less now, having gotten into Wicca, but I don't think I'll ever get tired of it." She smiled happily. "I have said to myself a lot though - if video games didn't exist, I'd definitely be a bookworm. So what sort of things do you write, anyways?"

"I usually like to write any kind of fantasy or sci-fi novels actually." Ana answered as she watched Gloria tucking her hair away from her face. "I started writing when I went into college at the time, and since then I stuck with it. The stuff that I don't publish is just for my spare time, or sometimes I forget to finish what I'm writing and it ends up collecting dust somewhere."

"Wow, that's awesome, I'd love to read it. That's what a lot of games are about... I bet you're an amazing writer too, having written since college." She grinned softly almost like a little girl, seeming fascinated by the idea.

Anastasia smiled even more and rubbed the back of her neck. "I have a whole room just filled with books of my own. I am more then willing to let you have whatever books you'd like." Anasastia offered. "So would you like to get something to eat sometime?" Ana asked blushing slightly.

"Whaaaat?" she asked playfully, smiling wide and biting her lip. "So, like, I have my own personal author to read all of her books? Okies!" She giggled, showing a little bit more of her youthful side before blinking in surprise, feeling her cheeks getting hot again. "Um... I.. I mean, yeah..." She bit her lip again, though more shyly this time, unsure if she was being asked out on a date or not. "Um.. okay, but do you like burgers?" Gloria couldn't help but giggle softly.

She couldn't help but giggle seeing Gloria's reaction after she offered to have some of her own books. Gloria was really adorable and she was sure she would make anyone really happy if she was dating someone. "I still eat burgers." Ana said and smiled even more after Gloria had said yes. "And it's a date then just let me know when you'd like to go."

Gloria couldn't help but smile shy and look down to the ground for a brief moment. "A date?..." She reached up and pressed her cheeks together for a moment, feeling them getting red now. "Um.. okies... uh... I'm free whenever... pretty much... I mean... maybe not tonight, because... it's really sudden, but..." Gloria bit her lower lip softly. She never had this sort of luck with women! It was almost too good to be true.

"Tonight I'll be unpacking my things anyway, so tomorrow sound good to you?" Anastasia asked and smiled at Gloria as she took out a pen from her pocket and reached over towards Gloria's notebook and quickly found an empty page and wrote down her number. "Feel free to text me anytime, it was nice meeting you Gloria." Ana said as she leaned forward and kissed Gloria on the cheek and got up to leave making her way towards her car and left the lake.

Gloria held her cheek for a few moments, sure she was beet red by now, watching the woman get in her car and leave. Then she opened her notebook to the page that Ana had written on and swallowed softly. She had given her phone number? Gloria only ever had that happen once to her. The thought actually made her quiet giddy inside.

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You know that moment were a series of events take place before your eyes that you have no control over but you feel that its your fault? That's exactly how Ravi felt at that moment, of in the few moments that followed.

Ravi frowned as he watched Sophie go into sort of a tantrum. For once in his life, Ravi didn't even understand what happened. What had he said? How did he offend her, Ravi scoured through his memory, trying to find what he said wrong? She seemed angry that he was leaving her. But they had just met right, was she that attached to him so quicken. Ravi again, found it flattering knowing that she apparently wanted to spend time with him. It wasn't like he didn't want to spend time with her, he offered to, he asked her when here shift would end.

Ravi sat there for a few second racking brain, doing everything he could to find a plausible answer. Why was he so concerned? He had no idea. Ravi raked his hands through his hair, sighing as he did so. He felt bad, even through he did not know what he did, had he embarrassed her?

Ravi wanted to go after her, but he felt that jumping over the counter would have him arrested for some unknown small town law.

Before Ravi could react though, a woman who appeared to be older than him burst though the door, the bell chiming violently as she did so. All Ravi could do was watch as she jumped over the counter and disappeared in to the back of the store.

If she can, I can. Ravi thought to himself as he jumped over the counter, finding his way to the back. All he could do stare as the lady took care of a fallen Sophie, who was having a coughing fit. Was he the one that did that? This was all him fault, but he couldn't think about that right now, he had to help her.

The woman made a quick call on a phone before looking back at Ravi, basically yelling at him what had happened.

"We were having a conversation in the front when I might have said something to offend her or embarrass her. I didn't know she would react this way. " Ravi explaining calmly as he knelled down next to the woman, slipping on a mask of seriousness, trying to keep strong for her.

Another sharp pain shot through her chest, yet Sophie did not scream. She fell to the floor and curled up into a tight, trembling ball. Her lips moved as if she were trying to say something, yet the only sound that escaped from her were faint gasps as she desperately tried to breathe. Her vision was blurry and she could only hear muffled voices. She reached out weakly and grabbed the bottom of Charlotte's pant leg and tugged it ever so gently. Finally her voice weakly came through. "Char... I thought... I thought I had finally made progress... That I was getting better but... But I'm not am I...? I'm getting worse... Am... Am I gonna die...? I don't wanna die yet... But it hurts... It hurts so much... I just wish I was born healthy..." Sophie murmered softly, a few tears bitterly fell from her eyes. She winced and tensed up as another sharp pain shot through her, then relaxed slightly. "Char...? I need you do something for me... Please... If you ever come across a tall young man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes... You can't miss him... Tell him that I said 'sorry' for yelling at-" Her voice grew softer and softer until it faded away completely and her grip on Char's pant leg loosened and fell limp, as her eyes slowly closed.

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Journal Entry of August 2nd, 2016

I lost apart of myself yesterday. Today, I feel empty. I just got a call from my parents, they finally made it to mortuary at the University, yet they were told Emily's body was gone. I am beyond disbelief. It all seems so pointless now. I just don't know what to do.

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A single tear rolled down Billy's face and splattered on the page, as he stared at it blankly. He had nothing more to write at the moment. he usually tried to write at least one paragraph every time he wrote but he found himself unable. His hands were shaking slightly and he felt wrong all over.

Before he got the call from his parents, Billy had finally managed to eat some cereal, but found that he could only stomach a little bit. Then he finally took a shower, letting the hot water run all over his body. It felt extremely good upon his skin and would probably be the only good highlight of the day.

Billy sighed, as he stepped outside into the hot afternoon sun. He needed to get out of the house, fresh air sounded like a good change of pace. He walked into the woods, not caring where he went and never listening to what was going on around him. Billy was just too lost in thought to care. So he walked even more.

[me and @Nallore ]

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"Thanks hun..." she said with a quiet and solemn voice and looked towards the teens once again. In a way it was nice to see their youthful energy. It reminded her of a time long gone. A time when she was running around with boys and girls. Going to the movies with her friends or getting drunk while a minor. It had been quite the thrill to do so, but she also knew how wrong it had been.

Her eyes fell on Riley for a moment, she quite liked the little ball of energy. There was always something going on with her. Good in class, plenty of friends. Pat sighed. She reminded Pat about herself quite a bit, how she had been back in the days.

Seth got her breakfast done within a yiffy and Pat dug in quickly. The savoury taste of an egg and bacon sandwich along with some porridge, and most importantly, her coffee.

Pat sniffed on the coffee and sighed softly before drinking a mouthful of the hot liquid. She enjoyed the flavour for a good while, drinking it slowly, savouring it all. Pat closed her eyes for a few moments as her headache slowly started to fade away.

Behind her she could hear more and more people appearing. This camping trip was going to be the biggest yet, not only that, plenty of boys as well. It wasn't that she disliked boys, she just didn't have the biggest confidence in their honesty any longer.

Pat stood up from her seat after finishing her breakfast, thanked Seth for the wonderful meal and walked out of the B&B towards the RV. "Riley, come here for a moment please," she said and waved her hand to come over as she walked off to the side of the B&B.

Seth looked over towards Patricia and smiled as she enjoyed her breakfast which he was glad that people always enjoyed his food, once Patricia had finished eating her breakfast he went over to grab Patricia's empty plates setting them all down into the sink. "Have a great day Pat, hope everything goes well for you for school this year and make sure Riley does well to." Seth said as he waved goodbye to Riley's teacher as he went to take the other empty plates of guests and went to clean them off.

Riley sat in the RV as she made sure that everything was actually locked down for her friends supplies, she was really excited for her trip now seeing the group of her friends just outside of the RV. That's when she heard Patricia's voice from outside asking to speak to her, she was actually very curious about what it was about. Riley quickly got out of the RV carrying the keys to the RV and setting them into her pocket. "I'll be back in a bit guys." Riley told her friends as she approached Patricia.

Once Riley was close enough she smiled and waved towards her teacher, she was wondering what she actually wanted. "Hi Miss. Isaac, how are you doing today?" Riley asked with a smile.

"I'm doing quite well Riley," she said with a kind smile. "However I am slightly concerned about this year's camping trip." Pat crossed her arms over her chest. "There's many more than what you normally go with for one. How are you going to deal with the logistics? Food, water, sleep locations? Then there's plenty of boys going along as well." She sighed and smiled awkwardly. "There's also a wolf running around attacking livestock. So make sure you keep any tents and the RV locked at all times.."

She wanted to say something else as well, something that had been on her mind for a longer time. But that was nothing she should be saying or doing. Pat closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She knew that Riley knew all these things, but still...

Riley looked up at Patricia as she tied her hair into a quick pony tail her eyes met Patricia's for a moment she was concerned for the others which was understandable. "We got it all covered everyone is going to set up their tents near the RV and the fire that we will set up. Food we already got that covered spent half my weeks paycheck on just food alone. The RV has a toilet so no one will have to worry about roughing it out in the woods to go number two. And if there are any signs of the wolf we will leave the campgrounds quickly." Riley said with a soft smile as she lightly ran a hand through her hair. "Was there anything else that you'd like to know or need?" Riley asked, she wasn't sure what else Patricia actually needed.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all. Not only have I known you since you were young, I respect and love your parents as well. So if anything happens to you I'd be greatly saddened." Without realising it she had placed her hands on Riley's shoulders and leaned in closer. Pat blinked and blushed a little when she realised that there wasn't much distance left between the two. She looked at her for a good few moments before giving her a peck on the lips.

Riley felt Patricia's hands on both of her shoulders and looked up at her, she was happy to know one of her teachers cared for her and her friends going on the trip. Then she watched Patricia leaning in closer her face instantly turned a bright red as she felt Patricia's lips pressed up against hers for a few seconds. She started to rub the back of her neck she was completely unsure what to think of the kiss. "I'll be careful don't worry Miss. Isaac, there hasn't been any trouble yet on any of these trips at all." Riley said softly.

Pat's face was bright red and she backed off and cleared her throat. "Ahem....I don't want to jinx it, but I'm afraid that something will happen anyway. You were there for me when I had trouble, so I'd want to be there for you. All right?" she said with a smile. She could feel her heart pounding very quickly and heavy. She could hear it in her ears. "So call me if anything happens or if you need anything; anything at all."

Pat was still blushing slightly. She could feel herself going crazy on the inside. She had crushed on, and KISSED one of her students. She wondered what Riley thought about it all; in her own mind it was madness. Riley was almost half of her own age for crying out loud!

She tried to keep a good face on despite the blush and gently placed a hand on Riley's shoulder and patted it. "Off you go now. Don't want your friends to keep waiting. I hope everything goes well and I'll see you once you get back." Pat said with the sweetest smile she could muster.

Riley was trying to wrap her mind around the whole kiss, she had never kissed anyone before and her first kiss happened to be by her own teacher. A teacher that she had known since she was a little kid, even she remembered helping Patricia through the breakup with her boyfriend last year. "I uhm, you could come with us. I mean Vanessa is going and she's way older then I am. And my parents would be happy to have another adult with us or something.." Riley said still blushing.

She looked up at Patricia for a moment and smiled slightly. "And thank you I'll keep that in mind, if anything comes up I'll talk to you." Riley said as she gently patted Patricia's hand and smiled back at her.

"Uhhh, I guess so. I still need to go and get my clothes though and some supplies." Pat thought about it for a moment. "Because I don't think you've got anything that fits me lying around here. So I'll be back in just a few minutes with my things. All right?" Pat was just about to leave when the dreaded question came.

"I uh..." her face turned bright red. It had been a spur of the moment thing which she regretted she had done. It was stupid, fucked up really. "I dunno....reasons?" The words came out of her mouth before her brain stopped them and she turned an even deeper crimson and turned around. "Just don't leave without me; ok?" Pat jogged off back towards her apartment just down the street.

"God I am so bloody stupid!" she cursed loudly once she got back. "What if she tells someone?" She shook her head. "Don't even want to think about it.." Pat quickly packed a few sets of clothes and sleepwear along with other necessities before putting on her riding gear. She slung the backpack onto her back and walked down and looked at her bike. She loved the thing to death, her little Thunderbird. It wasn't the loudest bike either, which was just perfect for her.

She got on it and revved it a few times before driving it back down to the B&B, trying to locate the RV so she'd have someone to follow. She hoped to all the gods that the road wasn't too horrible out there, otherwise it was going to be a bumpy ride....

Riley blushed slightly at Patricia's answer and rubbed the back of her neck and nodded. "Alright i'll see you whenever you get back, and we wont leave without you." Riley said as she watched as Patricia turned around and quickly headed down the driveway, past the others and then down the road. "Why did she just kiss me?" Riley muttered to herself, it felt good but she also knew that it was wrong she was her teacher after all. Riley quickly shook the thought out of her head she started to head back down towards the rest of her friends and looked towards them. "So Miss Isaac is also coming with us now." Riley said to everyone else as she leaned herself up against the RV, there was just three more people to come now.

Riley wasn't going to go out and tell her friends and classmates that Miss Isaac had just kissed her, and she wasn't going to ruin her friend's teaching career if it was just a one time thing. She was still blushing at the thought of the kiss, and then started to think of so many other things, did Patricia like her that way or something? Riley still wasn't even sure and simply just shook it out of her head for now.

Pat found the RV still there and she smiled wide. She had not been left behind after all. She drove up next to where Riley was standing and removed her helmet and smiled towards her. "I'm glad you guys did not leave me behind there," she said and chuckled. Her eyes were drawn towards Riley's lips and she blushed and turned off the bike and got off it. "So how many more are we waiting for?"

Riley heard Patricia's motorcycle going down the road and then saw her driving that awesome looking bike up to the driveway and stopping near her she smiled back at her. "We are just waiting on Morgan and Alexandria they are both coming this year apparently so that should be interesting." Riley said as she remembered Morgan not going on to many of the trips in the past. Then she saw Patricia looking at her again causing Riley to blush slightly. "So yeah the two of them are running a bit late." Riley said softly.

"Really?" Pat asked quizzingly. She was surprised to be honest. She had never expected those two to actually join in on the trip. They had always seemed so timid and reserved. She shrugged her shoulders. "I've got an extra helmet if you want a ride while waiting.." Pat asked carefully, looking in towards the diner almost for confirmation that it was all right from Seth, if he could hear them that was.

Riley looked at Patricia for a moment as she offered her a ride on her motorcycle, though she had ridden her dirt bike a million times she had never actually ridden on a motorcycle before. She bit her lip for a moment, Seth was to busy inside to even notice what everyone else was doing outside. And a short ride couldn't help at all, and it would actually be pretty fun as she approached Miss Isaac Riley gently took the second helmet and smiled at her. "I'd love a little ride." Riley said as she hoped onto Patricia's motorcycle and wrapped her arms around her waist.

Pat smiled and blushed slightly as Riley wrapped her arms around her waist. She felt a joy there, happiness. Pat placed the helm back over her head before making sure that Riley had it on properly. "All right, make sure you hang on tightly and don't let go for one second." Pat slowly got the bike in motion after Riley was all set and drove off at a slow pace. Ever so slowly they picked up speed as Pat got more and more comfortable with Riley's weight.

Slowly they were up to road speed and Pat drove through the town past her house and down around to the school. She made it a little tour of the town before she headed on back to the others. It wasn't too long of a trip, and she hoped that Seth would not be angry with her about it.

Pat drove up to the RV and revved the bike once before leaning slightly to the side. "All right Riley; you can get off now," she said and put out the stand and got off herself after Riley was off. She removed her helmet before helping Riley to remove hers. "There we go. I hope you enjoyed yourself," she said with a wide smile.

(Thought it was the ooc sorry!!!)

When the woman sitting in the booth next over finished ordering, Octavia had long since put down her phone. This whole entire town was peculiar. Back in New York, people with tried to get her number or told her to move or walk faster. She hated it with a passion, but it was comfortable. She wa't the most mild temper herself. However, for the little time she'd been here, she'd been stared at by a bunch of teenagers, sat across from a woman that didn't seem at all talkative, and now? One of those young teenagers had walked over and started talking to her. Her city side wanted to tell her to buzz off. But, when in Rome, do what Roman's do. She learnt that lesson well.

So the girl's name was Alyssa. Octavia forced a kind smile. "You're sweet," she said. Watching the girl run after her friend, Octavia shook her head. "What an odd place."

When it was her time to order, Octavia tapped her finger against the table as she stared at the menu. "I'm still deciding. If you could check in later?"

Honestly, she didn't know what she wanted to eat.. Everything seemed so basic. Her typical palette would surely no be satisfied from what was offered. There was no fillet mignon nor smoked brown sugar salmon for her to sing her teeth into. There was scarce vegetable options either though she loathed vegetables. Not enough meat. Not enough juice. Thinking she should just flip a coin, Octavia's eye wandered back over to the woman sitting opposite her. Lying down now actually. Octavia saw the cancer sticks. She frowned.

Gathering her things, she walked over to the woman's booth. She cleared her throat. "You don't look like you're waiting for someone. Mind if I join you?"

Kim's moment of quiet only lasted for a few minutes as she heard another voice. At first she was quite surprised. Who would talk to her after the cheerful one was gone? "Riley" Kim recalled in her mind. Who else would? The sheer surprise made her pause for a moment. She slowly moved the tablet out from her field of view and looked at the person. For another dose of surprise, it was that city lady she had been staring slightly at before. Had she offended her? Kim was not sure what to make of it until slowly the lady's words came back to her.

"Nono, feel free to join. The only person I'm waiting for would be the waitress with my meal," she said and smiled before returning to her pad and kept flicking through new designs that she was planning on making. Her brows furrowed as she looked at some, promply deleted them, not really sure of what she was thinking while making them.

Taking the seat opposite the woman, Octavia stared at the woman. Her eyes flickered to the tablet. "Are you a regular? I have absolutely no idea what's good or what's not," she said. "Do you have any suggestions? But my manners. Octavia. Of whom do I have the pleasure?"

Kim just chuckled at the question. "No, I've never been here before," she said in a soft and slightly amused voice. "I just went with chicken and salad since another customer ordered it, along with expressio the way I like to have it. Hopefully everything will turn out well." She reached up and placed the tablet behind her head before sitting up and stretching her body. "My name's Kim," she reached out with her hand slightly awkwardly before adding. "Lets enjoy this new experience together," and then winked. She still felt that there was something about this woman but tried to push it out of her mind with some attempted humor. "Quite the proper lady isn't she?" Kim mused, feeling kinda happy about it actually.

Hiding her frown she'd have to take a random leap of faith on the meal after all. She recalled seeing eggs on the menu. There was no way she could go wrong with that, right? Deciding on the omelette platter, she'd wait until the waitress came back. "Then a new experience it shall be for the two of us, Kim." She extended her hand and clasped Kim's hand in hers. If Kim paid attention, the coldness of her skin wouldn't be lost on her. Octavia was still trying to find a remedy for that. "So why are you here? I'm here for a bit of tourism. A friendly recommendation made to me."

She did not pay much attention to the cold hand, but soon it came back and she started designing battery powered gloves in her head. Kim pulled our her pad once again and started sketching on the design, using Octavia's hands as a model. She kept glancing on said hands every now and then while continuing to draw. "I came here to take over my grandfather's old shop. He ran a workshop here in town but had to retire a few years ago."

Kim turned the pad around and showed the design to Octavia. It was fashionable and seemingly comfortable with electric heating and touchphone pads on the fingers. "Might help with your cold hand problem," she said and drank some of her newly delivered coffee.

"So you're a crafts woman of sorts? Admirable," Octavia said as she watched Kim sketch on her tablet. For a rough sketch, the woman was good. Octavia was a great appreciators of arts of many kinds. Primarily traditional paintings. Contemporary was adequate in her mind, but to each his or her own in the medium used. From what she could tell, Kim was drawing some sort of glove. She didn't know the details.

Finally seeing the full scope of the drawing as Kim turned the screen to her, Octavia's eyes roamed over the screen. "Interesting concept. I've such concepts back in New York. They never worked nor went anywhere past the pilot phase," she said. "If you can make it work - actually work long term - I'd be willing to invest in it. With a few more fashion oriented tweaks of course. But this is but a rough sketch."

Kim chuckled at the comment. "Of sorts, I do like designing things. I might not have the best fashion sense, but I do try." She smiled softly and turned the tablet back towards her and continued sketching. "The main problem with gloves like these is that the battery supply don't last. For it to remain comfortable it has to be a small battery, but they don't last. So they've never went anywhere."

Octavia nodded. "Which is why I didn't pay them any mind," she said. "To be blunt, they seem like a trivial toy versus something practical. Lest you address the upper strata as your consumer audience. Truly though. The phrase 'the 1%' holds some truth in the matter."

She slowly started eating on her sallad and was quite pleasantly surprised by the taste. "Mmmmhhh..." she said and sighed deeply and used one hand to draw and one to eat before taking a pause. "For them to work you need something powerful enough to power them, but small enough to be comfortable. Which is why these are made out of solar absorbing material and has batteries at most places where it won't be noticed along with a small charger to keep the batteries charged."

Kim had grabbed onto Octavia's hand and gently started running a finger along it while explaining and pointing at different areas on both the back and the palm of the hand. "You can also place batteries on the wrist for the long sleeved ones."

Surprised from the sudden touch - she'd have slapped the person if she were back in New York - she entertained the exeptional case just this once as Kim manipulated her hand. "Long sleeved gloves? My, my, that inspiration's quick with the ideas." Tapping her wrist with her other hand, Octavia forgot about the notion for food. "Solar absorption technology then? If I recall, that sort of technology is either in development or quite expensive. To make it as flexible as you suggest. The battery placement. If I were the consumer, I'd be turned off to see a battery bump."

Retracting her hand, Octavia crossed her legs as she stared at Kim intently. "But there's promise."

"Yes, while the technology has been around for a longer time, turning it into small scale is the hard part. I can do it, but it'll take time, and for bigger companies they don't want to spend that time." Kim giggled happily before continuing. "And the batteries, if long sleeves, can be quite flexible. Lithium batteries, most just call them rechargeable ones. But a short stint in paintball and airsoft sparked an idea. The batteries they use there are quite flexible, so they should be able to turn thin and wide instead, like a layer within the gloves themselves."

Kim was quite proud of her idea and you could tell from her voice that she was going to try it anyway. "If nothing else, at least I'll have hand warmers for myself," she said and chuckled. Despite her earlier reservations towards Octavia, she had a sense for tech it seemed.

Holding her silence, Octaivia thought about what Kim had shared with her. Due to the constant line of business meetings waiting for their chance to be graced with her attention, reading people was an integral skill she cultivated from long ago. She had a pretty good sense of the manipulative, the cons, and those who were too blinded by their 'baby' to know when the risk wasn't worth it. The telltale signs weren't coming from the lady sitting right across from her. If anything, Octavia was pleasantly surprised a small town like this would have intellectuals in something other than hunting. A stereotype she knew. But stereotypes formed from a kernal of truth albeit exaggerated.

"I'm staying in this ... pleasant town for a while. I think you're worth the time," she said. "I'm an investor. Of sorts. Financial is my strongest field, but I do have a large hand in technology. Current patented ones in use by the government as well as private cutting edge wonders. I'm not promising anything. Not yet. If you refine that idea, however, it may hit it off in the fashion industry. Though the chance of it becoming the desired product is slim to none, I'd be willing to 'suggest' it to the right people. Contingent on a good plan of course. I don't champion subpar products. That was not an insult."

Kim smiled happily as she got the comment about being worth it. "The other problem is the companies. Look back in the days, the mouse being neglected. So many great inventions were cast away by companies and even more not coming to light because they did not have the skills to market."

Octavia chuckled. "I'm not sure if the marketing was the problem. Assests is a major deciding factor in any business endeavor," she said. "The nice thing about entreprenuers like yourself is that you afford the risks. Audacity, audacity, audacity. That's what the French said back in WWI. Of course, they paid for it heavily. But that's besides the point."

She ran a hand through her hair. "I probably won't refine it for a long time though. Have so many things I need to do at the shop along with a current contract to build some robots for them. Might do prototypes, function rather than form mostly, in my spare time." Kim looked over Octavia, before she was drawn to her eyes. "If you don't mind some manual labour or programming if you can, want a place to stay, I've got spots open back home," she said with a half-smile

Raising an eyebrow, Octavia recrossed her legs. "Robots? For a local crafter, you work on some very contemporary objects," she said. "If you make a successful robot, I'd like to see it. Who knows? Maybe you'll get a very hefty investment sum. Speculative and hypothetical of course." When given the offer, Octavia's eyebrow arched even higher. "Do I look like someone who does manual labor? Programming though. Depends on what you plan on programming. You're ... inviting me to your home?"

Kim chuckled and smiled. "No, you don't look like someone who does manual labour, but appearances sometimes betrays." Kim tilted her head slightly. "The programming would be PLC and robotics, it's not the hardest to learn if you're interested. That or if you know electronics, or just wants to be the store's clerk," she said and chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, if you'd an be usefull addition to the household. Or you can rent a room for cheap if you want. I've got plenty to spare." Kim leaned back and tapped on her pad, checking the cameras again, making sure no one was there when she was gone.

Holding her tongue, it took Octavia almost everything she was to not retort in a very uncivilized manner. Then she thought back to a time when she was still building herself up to where she resided now. She had to do manual labor. A lot of it. Especially working with others and manipulating her way to power positions. She had a purpose for coming here too. Vigilence was needed in everything she did. But integating with the local populace? That wouldn't be such a bad thing. "So either rent a room or work?" she asked. "I wouldn't mind indulging in a few sessions of electronics. Who knows? It could be quite the resume skill."

Kim reached out with her hand and glasped Octavia's in her's. "Glad to have you omboard, partner," she said and laughs before making an exit, having finished her food. "I live up on the hill to the north, it's quite easy to find. You're more than welcome to drop by whenever you want to. Unless you need me to drive up things?" Kim stopped in the doorway and waited for her new roomie to reply before heading out to her car and got in it.

Shaking Kim's hand, Octavia smiled. "I'll manage. I'll stop by when I have my things together," she said. "Looking forward to our partnership."

---

Half a day had passed since Octavia moved into the shop. Kim was quite pleased about the arragement. She would have someone to talk to about her interests along with getting some building done. She had not slept her normal hours and was up early in the morning. Kim ate a simple breakfast of toast with cheese and bolognia while she was tinkering on a robotic arm. She wanted it up and operational within the day so that she did not have to load the machinery herself and instead could let the robot do the heavy lifting. She had gotten so absorbed in her work after getting an idea that she had not changed out of her nightgowns and was cheerfully listening to some music while tinkering away, testing the machine to see if it worked as intented.

She was never the sleeper type. Octavia had been up for a while. Looking through the luggage she dragged along with her to Kim's house, the place was decent enough. Certainly, her accomodations were slightly less 'extravagent' as the Riley's Bed and Breakfast, but the price for a potential tie into this town's affairs and potential investment was too good to pass up. Taking out a flask - she had several dozen packed away neatly in one bag - Octavia drank from it as she placed it neatly back into the bag. Still dressed in her nightwear, Octavia had no plans to wander outdoors yet. She made sure her supply of sun screen was ready in case she was to venture out.

Walking down into the kitchen - she smelled something pleasant - Octavia found Kim sitting at a table working on a robotic arm of sorts. Octavia's footsteps were near silent as she stood behind Kim looking on with the interest. "Look at your busy bee," she said. "Whatever are you laboring over?"

Kim had been so engrossed in her work that she did not notice Octavia walking up behind her. In fact, she did not register anything until she spoke up. "Oh...just working on a loader for my milling machine. So I don't have to load the heavy pieces by myself. Should also allow me to automate a bit more of the production." Kim leaned back from her work and sighed. "It's mostly done but the programming part remains," she looked up at Octavia. "And that's where you come in," she said and smiled before getting up from her seat and walked over and collected her laptop from a nearby desk.

She placed it on the table and hooked it up to the robotic arm and loaded up a program. "Take a seat, if you're still interested that is."

Even more impressed with Kim, Octavia took a seat at the table as she looked at the set up. "I'm still ... confused. If you're able to make stuff like this, why ever are you in a small town like this? Surely you could've found a job elsewhere? In a more urbane place perhaps?" Octavia mused. She looked at the laptop. "I don't mean to pry. Now the programming. You'll go easy on the rookie, yes?"

[color=0072bc]"Yes, I could, but I don't want to." Kim shrugged her shoulders. "I like this place. Now, for the programming. It's quite easy actually. You have inlets and outlets and you place logic markers in the middle. For example. You've got a thermomitor and an alarm. You want the alarm to go off at a certain temperature. You press place a logic marker that shows the temperature and then another one which places a requirement that when number equals the desired, it triggers, and sends it along to the output which then triggers the alarm." Kim showed with her finger on the different buttons. They had simple names like; equals to, requirement, ect, so she hoped that Octavia would be able to pick it up quite easily. "Feel free to play around with it a bit," she said and smiled wide.

"Different flavors for different persons," Octavia said as she listened to the programming pointers. It didn't see that complicated whatsoever. A bunch of symbols as well as various statements. That was oversimplifying the whole ordeal of course, but that's what Octavia did. Take a complex situation and dumb it down to its fundamental roots. Tapping away on the keyboard, Octavia fumbled some codes and such, but she was getting it. To her, there was a set template for these logic statements. She smiled. She could do this. "I think I may have just acquired another skill. Not at all proficient though. Yet. Let's see if I can't prevent anything from breaking then, hm?"

_{a collab feat @Anima}

---

Emerging from Riley's place after Alyssa, Kimberly noticed a few additions to their group compared to earlier. Recognizing many of them, she wondered where Morgan got to. Her twin told her she'd be coming with Alex. This wonder friend that Kimberly still had to meet. For someone to be able to get Morgan to come out on the teen's trip, well, Kimberly wanted to meet this Alex.

Seeing Riley wave her over, Kimberly made a beeline to her. "Sorry for poofing on ya. Lyssa thought she left her phone," Kimberly said. "Sorry I didn't say hi earlier Cass. So many things to do. Did I see a guitar case? Did you bring your guitar?"

Still unsure where Morgan was - even without Riley having to tell her to text her - Kimberly already had her phone out as she opened the text bubble to Morgan.

Morgy bear. Where you at?

Waiting for Alex.

Hurry up?

Sure sure.

Putting her phone away, Kimberly heard the tail end of Alyssa's search for a co-pilot. "Dibs. We'll talk on music," she said to Alyssa. "Morgan's on her way Ri-kins. Hopefully soon. Kinda wanna get this show on the road."

"Sure, come along." Alyssa lead Kimberly along the five minute walk to her house. They arrived at the two-story ranch house that Alyssa shared with her sister Emily. "You wanna step inside a bit? I need to bop in for my keys"

"We'll be right back," Kimberly said as she followed Alyssa back to her place. It was fortunate some folks were bringing their own car. It'd be one cozy trip in the RV to the lake otherwise. The walk to Alyssa's place thankfully didn't take too long. "Sure. Beats standing out here."

Alyssa tried the handle and found the door to be unlocked. With a groan she pushed her way inside. "Emily! What did I say about the door you little shit!" The 'shit' in question was seated on a small leather couch situated in front of a wide screen TV that dominated the wall of the cozy living room. The room also featured a pair of recliners and a glass topped coffee table in the center. The walls were decorated with the standard family photos that one would expect, and on shelves stood trophies earned by Alyssa's althletic career.

"You just left like...ten minutes ago or something." Emily stood and made her way to the fridge in the adjoining kitchen to retrieve a can of tea. Tossing it to Alyssa she giggled. "Have some caffiene sis, you get kinda bitchy without it."

While Kimberly didn't think leaving the front door unlocked was too terrible of a thing here in Red Lake, Alyssa clearly thought otherwise. Standing behind her, Kimberly was still surprised that the two sisters hadn't wrecked the place. She couldn't fathom living away from her parents. College was a different story. But when she still had a year in high school left? That's what she couldn't fathom.

Spotting Emily seated on one of the recliners situated in front of the TV, Kimberly waved to her. "Hey Em! Why does it feel like ages since I've last saw you?"

When Emily disappeard into the kitchen and came back with a can, Kimberly rolled her eyes. While there was certainly banter between herself and her siblings, she couldn't recall the last time she called any of them a 'bitch' or a 'little shit'. It's not that she disapproved. It was funny in a way. She wondered how Morgan would respond if she called her a 'little shit'. Well, 'bitch'. They were both the same age.

"So we gotta take that tea to go, Lys," Kimberly said. "Car keys. Em, are you okay by yourself? Need anything before we go munchkin?"

"Nah, I'm good. Lys has all my food pre-prepped and ready for the oven." Emily flashed Kimberly a grin. "And you likely haven't seen me because I like to 'ship' Lys with her friends - I call it sister-fiction - and it embarasses the crap out of her." Alyssa turned a deep red as she facepalmed at her sister's comment.

Kimberly looked over at Alyssa. She rose an eyebrow. "Wow. For a foul mouthed troll, you're really quite the mom," she said. About to tease even more, Kimberly was pretty sure her face had turned the same shade of red as Alyssa's when she heard Emily's sister fiction comment. She tried to recover albeit terribly done. "O-oh? What are the ships so far?"

"Don't encour-" Alyssa attempted to intervene, but found herself quickly over run by an outpourance of enthusiasm for her troubling younger sibling.

"Well I've written some Rilyssa, that's not bad, the whole bosses daughter angle is pretty good. Mirlyssa's not bad, mechanic meets student althlete and all that." Emily's eyes twinkled mischieveouly before she added her final pair. "But my OTP has to be Kimberlyssa, too good. Why can't you be gay Kimmy? Oh well, it's pretty in my head anyway." She let out a giggle as she flopped back into her seat on the couch.

It took every ounce of self-control for Kimberly to not lose her shit. The boss's daughter angle? The mechanic-athlete pairing? She never knew Emily could get so creative with Alyssa and her friends. What took the cake in her book was her and Alyssa. Was she gay? Most definitely. Did people know? Two people did. Did Emily know Kimberlyssa wasn't some fictional ship? Most definitely not. She'd have a field day on Alyssa if her sister did know.

"Kimberlyssa's the all time pick huh?" Kimberly said. "Well, thanks for sharing. More dirt to make your sis look like that," Kimberly said as she pointed towards Alyssa. "You know how hard it is to make her blush and stuff? Pretty hard. Well, maybe not for her friends, but ... you get the point."

Turning her focus on Alyssa, Kimberly smirked. "What's your OTP, Lyssa? Give some inspiration to the munchkin."

Emily turned towards Alyssa, evidently extremely interested in the answer. "Me? Uh...I...Um?" Alyssa fumbled, alternating her glare between Emily and Kimberly. 'Seriously Kimmy? What do you expect me to say?' She thought to herself.

Emily finally let her sister off the hook with a giggle. "Oh I already know your favorite sis, and I won't tell. Be nice Kimmy, I'll send you my fics if you want."

Trying to hold in an impending cackle of evil, she perked up at the chance of being send this fics that Emily wrote. "You know? Yeah, totally. Send them to me. Like I said, more dirt on Lyssa over here is never a bad thing."

Alyssa let out a sigh of relief, and with one last parting kiss on her sister's cheek made a beeline for the door. "Be good, don't die, and call me if you need anything ok? Love you."

Though Kimerly was curious to know Emily's take on Alyssa's OTP, she'd done enough damage already. The jabs of fun were just that. Fun. Nothing sinister at all though Kimberly was very aware she put her girl on the spot. Kept Alyssa on her toes. That's how she justified it to herself.

Following Alyssa out, Kimberly waved at Emily. "Remember, fics."

Outside once again with the door shut behind them, Kimberly laughed. "I'm ... so sorry Lyssa. I couldn't resist...!"

Alyssa turned a half-hearted glare on her girlfriend. "Couldn't resist huh? I think I turned purple!" She made her way over to Jeffery - her four door honda civic- and opened the door. "Don't read those Kimmy, she's...detailed in her artistic pursuits."

Kimberly reached over and gave Alyssa's hand a squeeze. "It was kinda cute," she said. Following Alyssa to her Honda civic - the infamous Jeffery - Kimberly opened her side and took co-pilot. She rose her eyebrow at Alyssa's comment. She smirked. "Afraid what I might find?"

Alyssa took her seat and started the car. Putting on her seatbelt she winked at Kimmy. "What I'm saying is that it includes smut...pages and pages of smut...featuring me and all of our friends, and you of course." She let out a small giggle as she pulled out of the driveway.

Kimberly erupted in laughter. "Oh my god! I'm in a erotica?" Feeling tears form around her eyes, she fastened her seatbelt. She took deep breaths. "Now I kinda want to see what miss Em's cooked up. Who knows? Maybe your little sis may have some rad tips."

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe. Her descriptions are...inspired to say the least." She put the car in gear and began their trip in earnest. "My little sister, smut writer extrodinaire. Why does it all have to feature me though?" She laughed shaking her head.

"Why indeed? That is the question. You're not helping my soaring curiosity," Kimberly said.

"We both know you'll read some of them, blush furiously, then put them away." Alyssa grinned. "Then later maybe you read the rest. I've given up on discouraging you." She shook her head. "And you torment me with them of course."

Kimberly laughed. "You know me all too well. But you see? What I'm really curious to read is what Em wrote about us," she said. "You never know. She might have a knack for it. Maybe we could even make it interactive..."

She looked out the window hiding her blush before looking back at Alyssa. Kimberly snuggled into her chair. Hesitantly, Kimberly reached over and placed her hand on Alyssa's leg. "I just realized this is our last year. It's depressing to think about..."

Alyssa nodded solemnly, she reached down and gave Kimmy's hand a brief squeeze before returning it to the wheel. "Yeah, then everyone goes off to college or whatever." She sighed. "I'm waiting to see if I get any athletic scholarships." She stole a pensive glance at Kimmy. "Have you made any plans?"

Keeping her hand on Alyssa's thigh, Kimberly traced small little circles with her fingertips. "It's either scholarship or loans for me. I'm hoping lacrosse will give me something," she said. "You think I'd make a good business woman? I've been thinking about trying for some big league business school. I mean, I can talk and stuff. Super competitive from what I've seen. My grades aren't too bad either. I don't know ...

"You'd look good in a suit, I know that for sure." Alyssa laughed. "I think you'd be great, at whatever you decide to go for. Those people skills of yours go a long way. I'm thinking coaching for myself, I like sports theory, and designing training regimens and all that."

"You think so? I mean, I'm kind of sociable. Fashion hasn't been too big of a problem for me either," she said. "I can totally see you coaching! A scary coach but pretty great.

Her eyes never leaving Alyssa's face for a second, Kimberly frowned ever so slightly. "We'll still ... you know. If things continue to work out?" she asked. "I think leaving you and Riley - you in particular - scares me the most."

Alyssa smiled softly and nodded. "I'm not eager to let go of this either ... why don't we take a look at our options later on?" She flashed Kimmy a quick wink. "Together, I'm sure we'll come up with something."

Kimberly nodded. "Right. Sorry. I'm jumping the gun. Yeah, we can definitely come up with something. Hope that didn't sound weird," Kimberly said."In the meantime, we still have a year left. Keep kicking ass in sports, I'm sure we'll get those freakin' rare athletic scholarships. Who knows? Maybe we might end up at the same place?"

Alyssa shook her head. "No, it's fine. Something important to think about, but maybe not too seriously yet." Alyssa's face adopted a resolute expression. Her voice was even and calm. "We've got as long as we like, and we will end up at the same place. It may be hard work, but love's hard work right? I'm ready to give everything I've got if you are."

Kimberly smiled. She shook her head ever so slightly. "Don't tell me I'm the only one who thought that sounded cheesy," she said. Though Alyssa was looking at the road, Kimberly gave her one of her trademark winks. "When and if I can come out, when and if I can hold your hand in public, and if you haven't gotten sick of me yet, then yeah. I'm all in. We talked about this earlier. I think?"

Biting her lip, she saw the RV come into view. "I wonder what would happen if the others knew. If my parents knew."

Alyssa ginned. "If the others knew they'd congratulate us, and torment me. They'd be fine, they were fine with me after all." She thought for a moment before continuing. "If you parents knew? Well...I don't know Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher as well as I'd like, but I think they'd learn to accept you. They do love you after all. Either way I'd be there, to help you with whatever may come."

Kimberly laughed. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. "Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher happen to be the most conservative folks you'll probably ever meet. I can deal with my friends. Them? God, it scares me to ever think about having that conversations," Kimberly said. "At least Morgan doesn't hate me. She knows about me. I hate twin link sometimes."

Alyssa pulled in behind the RV and parked. She killed the engine and turned to Kimberly before they got out. "Whenever you decide to tell whoever you decide to tell, I'm sure it'll work out. You've got good friends, and I think your parents might surprise you. I'll be here for you too, whenever you're ready, ok?"

Kimberly nodded. "The best friends I could've ever asked for," she said. "If you ever get a chance to sit down with my folks, I think you'll understand why I don't wanna have this conversation. But ... who knows?"

Taking advantage of their moment of privacy, Kimberly leaned over and gave Alyssa a quick peck on the lips. She felt her cheeks burn ever so slightly. She smiled shyly. "Way better than a dude's."

---

Alex opened her eyes to bright sunshine cascading in through her window. A light breeze blew through her room and brought up goosebumps across her skin as she tucked her head back under the covers. She ran a hand across her face and rubbed her eyes, letting out a drawn out yawn. Then, John Newman's Come and Get It broke the silence as her alarm went off and Alex stuck a hand out from under the covers, reaching around for her phone to turn off the alarm. She stopped. "Actually....I can wake up to this..." she thought to herself. Alex quickly grabbed the auxillary cable running from her speakers and plugged it in, the song now being played through much better speakers. She sat up slowly and shook her head before stretching her arms out above her head, bobbing her head music. It was going to be a good day.

After a quick shower and a good fifteen minutes drying out her hair in the bathroom she emerged from her bedroom wearing a pair of denim shorts, a white t-shirt and a few bracelets on her right wrist. Her aviators sat on top of her head and contrasted her long brown hair that was now pulled back into a ponytail. She snatched her trumpet from it's case and walked downstairs with a light step, walking through the kitchen and out the front door. She walked to the edge of her front porch and took a deep breath, pulling her trumpet up to her mouth before beginning to play Reveille for the whole town to hear. The smooth and exciting sound of the trumpet sailed across the area and while it was already like ten, it still had the right effect on her mood and it was how she liked starting her days.

After the song had finished, she lowered the trumpet and took in a deep breath through her nose, the smell of the farm filling her nostrils. Alex turned to walk inside and grabbed her phone from her pocket, sending off a text to Morgan.

- Hey! Morning, girl! You riding with me today on the trip?

- I was thinking I could grab some coffee for us, what do you take in yours?

- Or do you even drink coffee?

Her habits just like clockwork, Morgan was up bright and early sitting in her room. Yesterday's events still very clear on her mind, she looked over to her laptop. Her mac was on it's screen saver. She must have forgot to turn it off. Courtesy of her lovely sister, someone had recorded Alex and her's jam session yesterday in the middle of town. Surprisingly, the quality was pretty spot on. She saved it and even tagged it to her own YouTube channel. She was sure to credit whoever took it. She was still working on that one. She was sure to send the video off to Alex as well.

A fully packed bag laid at the end of her bed. Having never gone on one of these trips before, Kimberly helped her pack the essentials. Some outdoorsy clothes, really loose fitting t-shirts and shorts, two hats, and some tolitries. It was clearly out of her element. She wasn't sure why she asked Alex to go. They could've done something alone. Like jam like they did yesterday. She spent most of last night thinking about that. In the end, maybe it was a good thing. Pushing herself out of her comfort zone. She had one more year of being a kid. She might as well enjoy it.

After taking a shower and drying out her hair, she sat on her chair. Hearing her phone buzz, Morgan reached for it. It was a text from Alex. Opening the text, she read the contents and replied:

- Morning Alex! Definitely. We're jamming the whole way there remember :)?

- Coffee is my drug! I take two creams and one sugar. I'll pay you back?

The smell of farm fresh eggs cooking on a gas stove wafted through the house as Alex cooked up her normal breakfast. An empty plate sat on the table alongside a glass of ice cold orange juice, accompangied by gleaming freshly washed silverware and a cloth napkin. She quickly flicked the frying pan and flipped the eggs for the third time before walking over to the table and gently sliding them onto the plate. She then sat down and quickly scarfed down the meal, the buttery taste filling her mouth. Alex quickly gulped down the orange juice and put her dishes in the sink before running up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She quickly checked her phone before grabbing her already packed bag off of her bed, quickly typing out a response to Morgan.

- Coffee it is

- I have a big binder of CD's for the car ride, what are you into?

Alex quickly slid on her riding boots once again and walked outside, tossing her bag into the jeep before hopping in the driver's seat. She went through a quick mental list of what she needed to bring and nodded to herself. She checked that she had a tarp to slide over the Jeep's frame for sleeping at night since she didn't own a tent, then popped the keys into the ignition and fired up her baby. She pressed the gas and drove out down her driveway, heading for the market to grab the coffee. The canary yellow Jeep had no problem with the gravel driveway, and she turned onto the road into town, sun shining down onto her as she flipped down her aviators.

Hearing her phone buzz, Morgan put down her worn notebook. Unlocking it, she saw it was from Alex. A smile crept across her face. She responded:

- You got anything jazzy? Swing. Electronic. Even pop. I like everything except country.

- I want to bring my piano! Think there'll be an outlet ;D?

- Totes sarcastic ....

Putting her phone away, Morgan got up and placed her notebook into her bag for the trip. She couldn't believe she was actually going to be social. Stealing herself to be somewhat tolerable for the others, what made it tolerable was Alex. If she didn't know what to say, she could always revert to music geekery. Nobody overtly told her this, but Morgan figured transposing her words into lyrics annoyed everyone. It just flowed way easier for her, and lyrics rolled off the tongue easier. Why couldn't she be more like her twin?

Zipping up her bag after her final check, Morgan figured she was ready for the trip out.

She took out her phone.

- Hit me up when you're almost here?

Alex secured the pair of coffee cups in the cupholders before pulling out of the market. She resisted the urge to take a sip of the rather large cup of heaven, opting to wait until she had picked up Morgan to partake in the caffeinated beverage. She roared down the road towards Morgan's place and came to a stop at an intersection. She grabbed her phone, quickly sending off a text before she stepped on the gas and roared down the road once again.

- Definitely all of those. BE there in five!

Alex flicked the button for the radio and smiled as Ed Sheeran's Thinking out loud came on, singing along to every lyric. She swayed in her seat as the warm summer air flowed through her hair, sending a shiver down her back. As she drove along, she thought of Morgan and her long brown hair, her cheeks flushing red as she did. She shook her head and got rid of the thought "Just friends Lex...just friends..relax." She turned down another new road and then pulled into Morgan's driveway, honking the horn once to let her known of her arrival.

Sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, Morgan felt her phone buzz. It was another message from Alex.

- Already waiting!

Pressing the send button, Morgan changed the song she was currently listening to and continued to wait. They agreed they'd drive up separately from the RV group. Morgan didn't have any objections at all. She wasn't even sure what to talk about even if she did decide to go. It saved her the 'awkward Morg' moment.

Hearing her phone buzz again, Morgan checked it. It was from Kimberly. Christ.

i]Morgy bear. Where you at?[/i]

Waiting for Alex.

Hurry up?

Sure sure.

Hearing honking from outside her house, Morgan guessed that was Alex's way of saying she'd arrived. Grabbing her bag, Morgan slipped on her shoes. "I'm leaving! See you in a couple days."

Opening the door, Morgan felt the sunshine engulf her as she took a deep breath. She loved being outside. Though she had yet to find a place that had one, Morgan wanted to know what it felt like to be totally immersed in light. A light shower. If the movie 'Sunshine' had any accuracy to it, it looked ... magical.

Spotting Alex waiting in her yellow jeep, Morgan walked on over. "Hey you," she said as she placed her bags in the back. Walking towards the passenger side, she hopped right on in and fastened her seatbelt. Safety first. While nothing outrageous happened to her. Outrageous things happened to Kimberly. Morgan wasn't keen on pushing her luck. Folding her hands on her lap, she looked over at Alex and winked. "So we'll split the gas. And I owe you a coffee."

Alex smiled as she looked over to Morgan, shifting the Jeep into reverse before backing out of the driveway "Hey girl! How ya doin?" she quickly shifted back into drive, smoothly accelerating down the road. She grabbed her coffee and took a sip, letting the smooth and warm taste fill her mouth. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing really." she rested one hand on the top of the steering wheel, the other sat on top of the shifter.

"There's a CD binder on the backseat there if you wanna pick out something for the ride. Should be at least a few things in there you'll like." Alex slowed down for a stop sign and signaled, before pulling ahead and making a right before accelerating once again. She stuck a hand out through the top of the jeep and waved to her parents, who were walking down the sidewalk "See you guys in a few days!"

Alex took another sip of her coffee and glanced over at Morgan. She was gorgeous-- no, beautiful. Gorgeous wasn't the right word, not to describe the effortless look she pulled off. She glanced at her own appearance in the mirror and scolded herself for the simple, unexciting ponytail she had up and the rather boring choice of clothing. Too late to change now.

As they began driving to the meet spot for the group heading up to the lake, Morgan felt the wind blow against her hair. She smiled dumbly. "I wasn't offering," she said. "It's been a pretty chill morning for the most part. Woke up and just slothed about. Kind of enjoying it before the year starts back up. How's your morning been? You ... look nice."

About to put in a CD, Morgan saw Alex wave to a couple walking down the sidewalk. She smiled and waved at them too. "Are those your parents? Cute!" Finding a Prince CD, Morgan took it out of the binder. She popped it into the CD player and pressed play. Prince's song 'Kiss' came on soon after. "Oh my lord, yes!"

Taking a sip of her coffee, Morgan moved her body to the intro. When the lyrics popped in, she turned to Alex and sang along:

You don't have to be beautiful
To turn me on
I just need your body baby
From dusk till dawn
You don't need experience
To turn me out
You just leave it all up to me
I'm gonna show you what it's all about

Alex smiled and sang along with Morgan, swaying her head with the beat. While she wasn't a huge Prince fan, anyone who hadn't lived under a rock since birth would know this song and Alex was no exception. She looked over to Morgan and laughed, seeing who she considered a friend now laughing and having a good time.

Alex looked ahead and saw the RV in the distance and sped up a little, excitement filling her from head to toe. It was the first time she'd been camping, and to go with such a big group would make the experience so much better. Or so she had hoped anyway. She slowed down and pulled into the parking lot, waving to the others. "Sorry we're late!" she laughed and looked over to Morgan.

"Shall we?"

When they pulled into the parking lot, the track had just finished. Morgan saw her twin and waved to her. And the others of course. She knew there'd be alot of people going on the trip, but those here had exceeded her expectations. How were they all going to fit into the RV? Morgan saw another car in the parking lot. Others were carpooling up.

"Yeah," Morgan said to Alex. She got out of the car and waited for Alex to do the same. "Let's get intros underway. Don't worry, the others are really friendly. Most of them."

---

Charlotte looked to the nurse that had just rushed in and took the bag from her, instantly reaching for the trauma shears on the front. She quickly cut away Sophie's shirt and made sure they weren't visible from the front windows before pulling it back and moving to check for a pulse. Nothing. She looked to the nurse who immediately began prepping the portable defibrillator, then back to Sophie. Charlotte landmarked the center of the chest and placed her hands down, beginning chest compressions while the nurse finished setup, the sound of breaking cartillage filling the room.

"Alright, come here and take over compressions." she looked back to Sophie and grabbed the defibrillator. Charlotte hooked up the cardiac monitor to Sophie to confirm the lack of a heartbeat before she began rubbing the paddles. "Nurse, charge to 200." The nurse nodded and hit a few buttons, before looking back to Charlotte. "Clear!" She placed the paddles on Sophie's mostly bare torso and pressed both buttons down, jerking the lifeless mass quite a bit. Charlotte's eyes shot to the monitor, waiting for a beat.

"Damn it Sophie, do NOT do this to me." Charlotte practically yelled, looking back to the nurse. "300!" she said as she grabbed a syringe of Epinephrine from the bag and injecting it into the lifeless girl. She placed the paddles back on Sophie's chest. "Clear!" she shocked again, this time receiving a reassuring beep from the cardiac monitor. It began to beep at a steady rhythm this time and a wave of relief washed over the stressed out doctor. Charlotte looked to the nurse and nodded, picking up a shirtless Sophie and carrying her to the nurses van.

Five minutes later, she burst through the ER doors and Charlotte called out "I need an IV set up on this girl yesterday. Someone call her parents and get them over here." she laid Sophie down on one of the gurneys and switched over the cardiac sensors to the stationary hospital ones as a nurse came over and began setting up an IV. "Someone tell me when she wakes up, I'll be in my office."

Charlotte slammed her door and slumped back against it, sliding down to the floor. She let out a long sigh before tears began streaming down her face. "Damn it Sophie....we were so close.."

---

---

Once everyone had arrived and packed up all of their things into the RV or into the other car that they chose to use. "Right! So everyone is here, lets get going!" Riley said happily as she got into the RV and turned it on, once all of her friends had gathered into their vehicles Riley led the way towards the RV it was a good thirty minutes out of town due to the roads up to the lake being complete dirt roads. Riley made sure she drove slow enough for the others, once they were there finally Riley could see the lake in front of them and she spotted another car as it drove past them, then another one just parked there.

Riley parked the RV a couple feet away from Gloria's car as Riley turned it off she pulled the key out of the ignition and looked towards her friends that chosen to come with her on the RV. "Alright! So lets unpack and set up camp and then we can start having some fun!" Riley said happily as she climbed out of the RV first and then went towards the compartments outside and slowly started taking out her own camping gear.

Riley looked over towards the redhead across from her and instantly recognized it as Gloria who stayed at the BnB for about a week before moving into her own place and smiled towards her and waved. "Hi Gloria!" Riley said with a smile as she pulled out the last of her tent stuff.

---

---

Five Hours Later...

Once everyone had unpacked their things Riley had gotten into the RV and got changed into a green bathing suit Riley looked over towards her friends and smiled at them and then looked up towards the sun. The water was turning into a orange like color from the sun reflecting off of the water which was how the town got its name from.

"I'll be in the water feel free to join me." Riley said as she ran directly into the lake and got deep enough for her to swim in and then floated on her back and looked up at the sky and sighed loudly this was going to be the best trip ever with her friends.

Vanessa Von Strong

Location: Campside near the lake

Interaction with: Riley @Nallore

.......................................

Vanessa smiled and as Riley drove towards the forests, she followed in her car. Listening to her music as she drove Vanessa looked really forward to this. It was two days and the full moon would not ruin it for her! Or.. so she thought.

Once at the camp, she parked her car a little away from the others and smiled. She grabbed her stuff and looked at Riley where she placed her tent. "Can I be your neighbor?" she asked and smiled. She knew Riley wouldn't mind it and unpacked her stuff.

............ Five hours later .......

Vanessa looked at everyone and smiled seeing the tents. "you go swimming guys, I'm gonna get us some wood for a nice fire" she said and walked away. Maybe strange but Vanessa walked on her bare feet right into the forest and didn't mind the small twigs at all.

She started searching for some good wood for a nice fire. Fire was something you needed to survive in the woods, not because it would get cold tonight but more for the animals. Vanessa took a deep breath, nothing was close, no animals atm at least but she was careful. Those attacks didn't seem like normal wolves.. And she did feel a ltitle tensed up now the sunknown was close to going under.

---

---

Pat's bright smile had slowly faded as they were driving on the road. It was a dirt road after all. While the road wasn't the biggest problem for her. Her two biggest problems were that it was dirt, the second that they were making slow progress. If she knew the way and could drive at her own speed it would had been a lot nicer.

"The problems of not knowing the way, huh?" she said quietly to herself as they cleared the road. She had been to the lake before, but it had been years now. She had only had a ride up here before. Never driving on her own. Either that or walked through the woods.

She got off the bike and groaned when she saw the state of it. This was not the time for that though. Pat took off her helmet and place it on the handlebars and walked over to the RV. She join in with Riley and helped her set up camp. She tried her best to help everyone get things together and set up. If she was the adult, at least she should do that much. She was, most of their's teacher as well.

After a few hours they were finally done and Pat climbed into the tent. She blushed deeply. She was going to share it with.... Her mind went blank for a moment before shaking it and she zipped up the entrance. She looked at her swimsuit and regretted it deeply. She should never had grabbed it in the haste. She considered not wearing it at all and instead just wear shorts and a t-shirt but eventually she gave in to herself and got dressed up.

The swimsuit carried bittersweet memories. It had been her ex favourite and she had quite loved wearing it. But it was just that, her ex favourite, which made her feel conflicted about it. This would be her first time wearing something he had liked a lot since the breakup.

Pat sighed and opened up her backpack and took a sip from a pocket flask before putting it back. Hopefully that could calm her nerves just a little bit. She placed the backpack with her things and exited the tent shortly after.

She grabbed a bucket and a sponge and walked down to the water and filled up the bucket before walking back to the bike. "Time to get cleaned up..." she said with a gentle smile and placed the bucket on the ground and began cleaning off the bike from the dirts of the road.

There were some things, Cassandra knew, that you could never truly explain. Traveling up to the campsite, Cassandra wondered if this would be the last time they did so. After all, college looked ahead. Somber, Cassie looked out the window. She wondered if she had wasted her years here, sure she had friends, but has she made bonds to last a life time? Saddened by the knowledge that perhaps she hadn't, she wondered if it was too late.

Arriving at the camp site, Cassandrs normally would have set up her tent, but lacking that she merely got her things out the RV, leaving her guitar safetly in the RV. She left her pack for anyone to use, as it was full of food.

She helped set up the camp. As Riley announced she as Swimming, Cassie debated about going in as well, but decided she wasn't really in the mood to get wet. Instead, she retrieved her guitar, and made herself comfortable, sitting near the edge of the water, and settling the guitar in her lap, she plucked a few strings.

---

Connor sighed wearily as people rocked up to what was obviously a camp site, making enough noise to scare any potential fish in the water. Resigned to eating what food he had, he packed away his gear, trudging over to his truck, he shoved it in the front, the bed of the truck being what he would use to sleep with, having rigged a roof that he could erect if it rained.

He looked up as the sun began to sink in the sky, a little bit scared of the coming night. Seeking to provide warmth, he decided to get fresh wood for his fire, and after a moments hesitation, took the homemade taser out, slipping it into a pocket, before starting off to collect wood

---

Once they arrive, both twins set up their stuff. This involves setting up their small tents in a spot that seemed to suit them. The spot is an area near some bushes where the blue and black tents seem to stand out. It is close to the group, but not too close. Once done they toss their duffles in their respective tents and get changed (in the tents).

They emerge from the tents in swim shorts. Gage's are black while Aron's are blue. Other then the difference in color the shorts match. Seeing Riley calmly enjoying the water the twins look at each other and grin. Both take off running to the water before cannonballing into it with two huge splashes. They emerge from under the water and grin. Seems these two are planning on having a blast even if it means being obnoxious.

---

---

Gloria had stayed for the rest of the day, mostly enjoying the surrounding lake and thinking about what happened earlier, but she wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere. However she did glance back as she heard the engine of the RV and saw the massive thing come into the parking lot with several other cars. It must've been that camping trip Riley was gushing about earlier, which she had to admit was cute. Low and behold, there she was, getting out and smiling right at her. Gloria returned the wave in a manner that was a tad bit more friendly - especially since no one really knew Gloria besides Riley - even her parents had limited contact with her during her stay. "Hi Riley," she replied sweetly and watched the teenager for a few moments. 'I bet she breaks a lot of hearts with all that warmth,' she thought to herself and returned her attention to the lake.



Everyone had set up and by this time, Gloria was making some sort of notes in her notebook again, having mostly stayed in the same place the whole time. She had watched and listened and enjoyed the weather, though not a soul had come up to her and said anything. To be honest, she had eyed the women a bit, just out of curiosity mostly and enjoyed many of the boys. In particular she took notice of Vanessa as she walked out towards the forest, seeming to focus on her for a few more moments than seemed polite. Just then, she got a random idea and started to draw in the dirt once more, making another circle - after all, she had all night anyways, right?