Got Him

Hunter was thankful for the little get-together. It was a nice distracting ending to the day, helping him relax, have fun, and laugh as he and Eli went at it. He liked spending time alone with Ryan, but it was nice to be in this group too, able to just be himself and interact with good people. 

Working on finishing up some potato chips, he slipped one arm around Ryan's waist and gave her a little squeeze. This whole evening was great, but the best part was her. 

Staying relatively quiet unless engaged by Eli, Tal ate slowly and remained fairly withdrawn. He was trying... it was just... hard. Especially with Ryan just feet away, snuggled on Hunter's lap. He knew it shouldn't hurt any more, but... it still stung a bit. She looked happy though, and that's what really mattered, wasn't it? Eli was his best friend, and he liked Scarlet too, and missed hanging out.  Would he ever be able to move on so he could just have fun with them again?

Finished eating, he set his plate aside and sighed. It really was a nice evening, and he didn't really want to go home quite yet. He was packing to move, and doing it alone was pretty tiring. 

All of a sudden, things went crazy. He looked just in time to see Brooke fly up from the table. He was going to move out of her way, but didn't have time, and he felt her toe catch his own foot that was on the step. His eyes widened as he saw her start to fall. It was only a couple steps, but that would be enough to hurt. 

Reflexes kicked in, and he sprung up from his seat and turned, falling backward off the steps and landing hard on his back - but catching Brooke so he could take the impact. He blinked and coughed as the wind was knocked out of him, then winced. Reaching over the top of Brooke, he slapped his other arm, killing the bee that had just stung him. "Got him," he groaned.

Eli was concerned for them both, but was desperately trying not to laugh. "Good heavens... you two alright?"


Zan laughed at Destiny's question, and shrugged. "I try not to keep track. Let's just say I crash a whole lot less than I used to."

He took a sip of his pop, enjoying his favorite flavor. "Starting out, I wiped out a lot. Didn't know how to handle fast speeds in the sand. It's different from the road. You gotta learn to slide around the corners." He used his hand like a car to demonstrate.  "Jerk the steering wheel and you'll spin out and roll. Don't turn sharp enough, and you'll take it too wide and you'll come in last. If it weren't for that idiot driver, Thunder, I would have avoided my last couple wrecks."

He grinned. "Maybe once my wheels get fixed, I ought to take you out in the dessert once during the day. Unless... you don't like going fast."