Slow Motion

Tal remained still for another couple moments and finally propped himself up to look at Brooke. It was easy to tell how embarrassed she was, and he couldn't help but feel for her. "Don't feel horrible. I like falling." Only after he'd paused, did he realize how ridiculous he sounded, and now it was his turn to have a red face. His lips started to curl though, until he stifled a chuckle that turned into a laugh he choked down.

By now, Eli was laughing outright, trying not to spill his coke. Hunter was grinning too and gave Ryan a silly sidelong glance. He hoped Tal and Brooke were okay, but it really was funny.

Tal cleared his throat and glanced down at his arm where a welt had started already. "Eh. Nah. I'll be fine."

"If you're smart, you'll get inside and let her get the stinger out," Eli suggested. "Last time you got stung, your whole arm swelled up."

"Yeah, but it's not like I'm super allergic."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Brooke, there's tweezers, ointment and benadryl in the bathroom. Tal knows the way."

Tal smirked as he stood and also gave Brooke a hand up. "Okay, fine, but it's not that big of a deal."

"I hear onion works too," Eli suggested. "Ice. But definitely take some benadryl."

"Yeah, yeah." Tal shook his head, but motioned Brooke to follow him into the house, through the kitchen to the hall and to the bathroom. "Um..." He opened the medicine cabinet and scanned the contents. He'd forgotten how comfortable he'd been once, moving around this place. Glancing at his arm again, he could see the welt was growing. "Okay, maybe Eli was right. How are you with tweezers?"


Back outside, Eli threw Scarlet a silly look, and winked at her. "Sorry she fell, but..."

Hunter laughed. "That look on Tal's face..." 

Eli burst into laughter again. "Stop it. It was sad. They could have been hurt."

"But they weren't." Hunter wiped tears from his eyes with his palm. "Sorry. I just... I keep seeing it in slow motion."

"I said stop it!" Eli almost lost his perch from the railing, and spilled some of his coke ,which only fed the silliness. 


Zan's eyebrows rose and he stopped sipping his pop to laugh. "Five miles, huh? Well, maybe we should start out slow, like... going seventy-five on the highway instead of pushing the speedometer in the sand."

Carson had just come back with their pizza, and one of his eyebrows arched as he set it down on the table. He threw Destiny a look, hoping his mind was going all the wrong direction here after hearing only that last sentence of their conversation. "Enjoy... Need anything else, let me know." 

"Thanks." Zan nodded. "Looks awesome." He helped Destiny get a slice on her plate before getting his own and taking a bite. "Mm... good choice." He nodded. "So... tell me..." He leaned one forearm on the table as he chewed. "Who hasn't ever gone five miles per hour over the speed limit?" They'd chatted a lot about likes and dislikes and quirks and friends...but not pasts. He cocked his head to study her face. "I get the feeling you've had a pretty sheltered life." He didn't mean it in a bad way, he was just trying to figure out what made her so different.