Good, Evil, and the Gray Area (FIRST DRAFT)

Chapter 31

After we got the soap, we ended up with a soap fight. We were both covered in suds when we finally decided to rinse off, and make sure we had scrubbed well.

I felt cleaner then I had in months. Really, since I had lived with the awful man some people called my stepfather. At least I could get a decent shower at his house.

My skin was squeaky clean, as was my hair. I felt exhilerated. Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt lighter, like all that dirt I had scrubbed off my skin actually had weighed enough for me to notice. Maybe it had. There had been a lot of dirt.

"You smell good," said Ava, smiling up at me. I sniffed my armpit unceremoniously and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes I do. So do you." I said, sniffing her. She laughed at my head buried in her armpit. I kept it there, snuffling. She giggled. Ava was like the little sister I never had. She still is.

"Stop, Lee. We're almost back to the camp." She said, giggling. I responded by snorting like a pig. "Seriously, do you want other people to see you like this?" She asked. I pulled my head out of her armpit to answer.

"But you smell good!" I said, trying my best to sound like a whiny little kid. "Not at all like your usual stench."

Ava's mouth opened in surprised. Then, she yelled "You'll pay for that!" I had already taken off running.

"You'll have to catch me first!" I yelled over my shoulder, a big smile plastered over my face.

Ava responded by chasing after me as fast as she could. I ran faster, letting out a screech. I shook my head, encouraging my hair to fall loose from it's bun and whoosh around my face. I shook it back so it streamed behind my head in a blond curtain, and breathed deeply.

"Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man! Woman!" I yelled back to Ava. She laughed, slowing down, and I took the advantage with glee.

Finally, I was so far ahead that I looped around, hoping to catch Ava from behind. I camp upon her in a clearing. Unfortunatly, she was ready for me, and had me pinned to the ground within seconds. Then, she began tickling me.

"I give! I give! Uncle, uncle! I surrender! You win!" I screeched, laughing. Ava stopped tickling me, but didn't get off me as I caught my breath.

"We need to talk." She said, staring at me intensely with those big green eyes.

" 'kay" I said, still giggling a little.

"We need to get back to the USA. I know you don't want to fight in the war, but it'll happen whatever we do. I think we need to stop it. We can't just hide here forever. Plus, don't you want to find out who your parents are?" said Ava. She was breathless when she finished. I stared at her, shocked.

"Aren't you happy here?" I asked, my eyes wide and questioning.

"Yes, I am. Everyone's nice. Plus, they helped save me. However, we need to get back home." She replied.

"I don't have a home." I said flatly.

"Lee, stop. I know you don't. I just meant our home country." She said, pleading with me.

"I know Ava. I'm sorry. I just really want to stay here. Zahir is like a brother to me. Just like you're like a sister." I said. Seeing the hurt in her eyes, I continued. "Actually, you're more then a sister. I can't even describe how much you mean to me, Ava. You know that. Don't look all hurt."

She made an effort to smile. "I know that. But we need to go. Zahir seems very nice, and we can visit him all the time. In fact, he can visit us, because of his weird teleporting thingy." She said.

"You're calling him weird, when you're a werewolf, and I can turn into a cat or create fire?" I asked quizzically. We both burst out laughing.

"Why are we arguing?" Ava asked, tears of mirth streaming down her face.

"You want to go back to America. And Ava, I know. I want to pretend that by hiding, the war will go away, but I know it won't. We've been gone for two weeks or so. Who knows what's happened by then?" I asked with a smile, "We need to go back and make sure no one's blowing anything up and everyone's playing nice."

"Alright. Thanks, Lee. I'm glad you understand."

So we finally headed back to camp.