Purple

Twenty-Five

Dedicated to Summertime_21

It was quite some time since Liam and Ruby spoke. It was longer since she last spoke to Luce. She couldn't take that she thought that way, so she went to go look for her. She probably shouldn't and give her space, but she couldn't help it.

She ran into the forest and called for her name. When she was walking, she spotted Chubs at the lake. She went over and sat next to him. "Hey."

"Oh no—no, no, no," Chubs said. The goofy grin dropped off his face and he stopped throwing bread crusts out to the ducks gathered in the water. "This is my secret hideout. No Rubys allowed."

"I found it first!" She huffed. "I've been here before you."

"You most certainly did not."

"Try a week ago, while you were unpacking."

He balked at that. "Well...fine. But I got here first today."

"Aren't you supposed to be on Garden duty again today?"

"Got tired of hearing some girl coo about how smart the Slip Kid is for making them plant carrots." He leaned back. Yeah, Garden duty hasn't been on his side ever since it was assigned to him. "Aren't you on Storage duty this time?"

She looked down at where her hands had clenched into fists. When she didn't answer, he set the bread bag aside and sat up straight.

"Hey, are you all right?" He put a cool hand to her forehead. "You look like you're going to be sick. Are you experiencing any migraines or dizziness?"

She croaked out a laugh.

"Oh." He pulled his hand away. "That kind of head trouble."

She laid back against the rough wood and threw her arm over her eyes, hoping the darkness might help dampen the headache. "Has anyone ever taught you how to use your abilities?"

He sighed as he thought about answering the question with the truth or some lie. When he decided, he said, "Yeah, this guy named Jack. That was the only way I was ever going to learn—if some other kid taught me, I mean. It just took a while to decide."

"Why?"

"Because I thought if I didn't use them, they'd eventually go away," he said quietly. "I thought everything might go back to normal. There's scientific evidence that if we stop using parts of our brains, those sections will eventually cease to function, you know." After a moment, he asked, "Clancy's helping you, isn't he?" When she didn't answer, he added, "I figured."

"I don't think I'm a good student though," she admitted to him. She shrugged. "I don't know."

"You need to be able to control it, otherwise it'll always control you," he said. "It'll scare you and manipulate you until you go crazy, die, or they find the cure. And guess which one of those things will probably happen first."

The lunch bell sounded—two rings, for the second meal. Chubs stood up and stretched, throwing the rest of the bread out into the water.

"You really think they're going to find a cure?" Ruby asked him.

"My dad used to say anything was possible when you put your mind into it." His mouth twisted into a humorless smile. At the mention of his father, Ruby's stomach clenched.

"You still haven't had a chance to send them a message?"

"I've asked around, but there's only one computer in this entire godforsaken place, and only one person gets to use it."

Clancy.

"Yeah," Chubs said as the fire pit came into view. It looked like they were handing out sandwiches and apples. "He said no. Apparently, it's a 'security risk' if someone other than him touches it."

She shook her head. "I'll ask him for you. Maybe I can convince him."

"Could you?" He grabbed her arm, his face lightening considerably. "Tell him I'll do anything—no, tell him that I will personally lick every single pair of shoes he owns clean."

"How about I just tell him that it's the whole reason we came here in the first place," she said, "and leave your tongue out of it?"

Chubs waited until she had taken her sandwich from the table before pulling her away. She thought he might want to eat back at the cabin or even the dock, but they wandered until they found Luce, Liam, and Luke.

Liam and a few other guys, including Luke, had found themselves a nice clearing in the trees. It was just wide enough to square off into two small teams for a quick game of hover ball, otherwise known as football with no hands.

Chubs and Ruby caught up with Luce as she watched. They sat next to her on an old tree trunk to share, ignoring the small group of female spectators who had gathered to cheer the teams on.

"Prepare to be entertained," Luce told them without leaving her eyes from the game in front of her.

"Of your brother and his brother-in-law?" Chubs teased. "Oh, I'm prepared."

Luce gave him a look, not appreciating the teasing, though deep down she found it funny.

Luke levitated the old football at the start of a play. He ran alongside it, trying to keep both it and himself out of the reach of the others. Liam, at one point, had the football an inch in front of him, but his hands were too slow and his footwork too bad to catch it when it was tossed to him.

"Keep your eye on the ball, butterfingers!" Luce called.

Liam's head whipped around in their direction. Just as his gaze locked on hers, Mike, who had the football at that point, mowed him over to get to the makeshift end zone.

The three cringed as Liam hit the ground and knocked his head against one of the old trees' roots.

"Wow," Ruby said. "I should have prepared myself to be entertained."

"He wasn't kidding about sucking at sports," Luce said.

"It'd be funny if it weren't so damn sad," Chubs said as he shook his head. 

The other boys were too busy laughing to keep the ball in the air. Liam stayed on the ground, his face flushed red, but his entire body shaking with laughter. He lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face, giving a glimpse of skin.

Luce doesn't blush. The word doesn't even exist in her vocabulary. However, she did look down as a smile tried to creep its way. She stopped it though. The last thing she wanted was to be teased...again.

Luke jogged over to Liam and helped him up, patting him on the shoulder. They laughed together like they had known each other since preschool. Maybe because that's Luce's brother and he's doing his best to be on his good side? Eh, it's doubtable.

edited