Dreamers

Ways of Coping

"No!" Lisa's voice was firm and hard, showing considerable strength for her small, exhausted body. She hadn't said a word for the past little while and Jhon and Jemma were just getting ready to settle down for the night when Lisa suddenly popped up from her spot under the tree.

"No?" Jhon asked as he was checking gear.

"Get me home, I'm not spending three weeks in a desert. Fuck you and all of your stupid ideas!" Lisa wobbled even as she was standing, her face pointing to the ground. Her voice, Jhon noticed, sounded.. Off.

Jhon held his lips together to try to hold back his laughter, "Lisa...?"

She looked up at him through her hair, "Just because you guys are willing to spend a month just for a bunch of rock-"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Amanda jumped up off of the four wheeler and yelled in a low, frightening voice. She took up a defensive stance, looking like she really was about to kill someone.

The other three turned to face her enemy, each reaching for weapons.

Amanda had jumped off smoothly and swung into a stance with two knives out. Her eyes told them she was ready for action... except for the fact that she was staring at a tree. She was looking off into the trees with her back to the group- the only people for miles. Obviously, she'd been dreaming.

As she turned around to the group Jhon and Lisa saw her eyes rimmed with red. She adjusted her stance to face the group, knives still out in front of her. Jhon and Lisa braced themselves. Amanda was the most able out of the entire group and if she'd eaten something or inhaled some mushroom or something they'd have a hard time fighting her off. Jemma, on the other hand, sighed and walked casually over to her.

Amanda's eyes didn't seem to register the movement.

"Sis..." Jemma slapped her across the face, hard.

Amanda stumbled and dropped a knife, but didn't raise her hand to cover her cheek and just stood there, in shock.

"Should we go hunt something, Sis?"

Amanda didn't respond. Her eyes seemed to be dead. Her legs were still tight, ready for an attack, but her face was sideways from the force of the slap. As if she was frozen, unable to move herself. Jemma grabbed her hand and started dragging her off into the forest, "Come on, let's go kill some rabbits." Jemma was upbeat as she said this, looking more like a child than merciless hunter of all things cute or pretty.

Lisa and Jhon watched them walk off with wide eyes.

The sisters disappeared into the forest.

Jemma wasn't wrong. Letting Amanda use up her energy by running around chasing rabbits was a good way for Amanda to let off steam. It gave her a reasonable way to vent after the betrayal had hit her so hard.

What the other two didn't know was: Amanda had earlier cried herself to sleep. Jemma, by driving it herself, was giving her sister the time she needed to let out anything rattling around inside of her. Unlike Jemma, who only cares about two people in the whole world, Amanda is quicker to give up her trust and give out pieces of her heart to others.

Jhon turned back to the unsteady Lisa, remembering he had his own problems to deal with. He silently cursed the sisters for leaving him to deal with this. He pursed his lips and considered his next action. Maybe... If he slowly backed away...

Before he could take half a step Lisa's face suddenly turned up to meet his, her hair flying from the quick movement. On her face was a look of horror. "Not..."

Jhon paused. She looked absolutely terrified. What had happened that would make her show a face like this?

"NOT THE CUTE LITTLE BUNNY RABBIT!" She began running, both arms out in front of her, towards where the sisters had disappeared off to.

"Oh shi-" Jhon did a baseball man's slide and tripped her just in time. Whatever the sisters were doing was probably some type of calming-down ritual for Amanda. He couldn't let Lisa, in her state, encroach upon them. She'd just slow them down in hunting, anyways.

Both of them were left moaning in pain.

"What did you tackle me for?" Lisa looked over her shoulder and glared at him. She held herself up on two wobbly arms.

Jhon held his side and looked up, ready to refute, when he noticed her unfocused eyes and red cheeks. "A-are you drunk?"

Lisa turned her face away. One of her feet was still resting over his stomach. "Shut up." She lifted her leg and dropped it back onto him hitting the place she'd kicked, when he tripped her, again.

Jhon grunted and quickly removed her leg from on top of him.

Lisa began pressing buttons on her forearm.

"Wait!" Jhon jumped on top of her, using his one good leg to push him back up, to stop her from upping the chemicals making her like this. Although he couldn't see what buttons she was pushing he could make an educated guess as to what she was doing.

He made it too late. She'd already changed it by the time he'd pulled her hand away. He could only watch as her expression changed.

From anger to happiness.

She giggled, "I forgot dat one made me stresssed." She smiled and her red cheeks made her look like she was absolutely glowing.

Jhon couldn't help but be surprised at yet another fast paced change. At this rate he was going to get lashback from going back and forth so quickly.

She giggled again and turned her body around until she was facing Jhon, "But it's okay now~ I got the righ~ un dis time." She tapped a thin finger against the tip of his nose. Or rather, into his eye. "Ops.. I mished." She giggled again and zoned out staring at his face.

"Okay." He sighed. "Come on," He'd been given enough trouble from this girl today. He honestly didn't want to deal with her in this state. After a long while of taking his time to awkwardly stand he held out his hand to Lisa. She might be wobbly, but she was still walking better than him. "Where's your tent? Let's get you to sleep."

"Hmm~?" Lisa took his hand and got up, making them both sway in the process. "Ma ten'tis with ma babay~Mm-hm!" She nodded happily.

"Baby what? Oh! You mean the car? You mean to say you don't have anything with you?" Jhon would facepalm himself if he wasn't trying to keep them both standing up. "I guess you're with the sisters, than."

Lisa paused in her tracks. "No way! Do you eben know how 'day shleep? Itsh lake being da dird wheel to a marrrrr~ied cupl!" Her eyes lit up as a thought entered her mind and she began her slow-trip-walk again, "Whad 'bout Jor's?"

"Mine?"

She smiled and took a long inhaled breath, "If it 'mell laike you, I'll take it!"

"Taking an injured man's bed from him you're- wait, my smell? What?"

She laughed and leaned into him. "Jus' laike ma gran..." Her nose glanced his jaw and a shiver ran down his back. With such a nostalgic scent Lisa let down her guard, accidentally calming herself in the process. At this point, where the chemicals in her brain has made all of her emotions happy and calm, the drugs made her too calm and began slipping into a comfortable sleep.

"Oh shi-" As she calmed down her strength left her legs, leaving Jhon all her weight. He stumbled and moved to fall against a tree, trying to catch her at the same time. In the end his back ended up scratching terribly against the tree. He hissed. As he fell he found there was yet another, more pressing matter. His leg was being squished by Lisa. "Lisa! Lisa get up!" He pushed at her shoulders before finally getting his leg out from under him.

"Hmm~?" Lisa drozily smacked her lips. "What?"

"You were on my leg." Jhon sighed as his leg was freed. When Lisa didn't respond with a snotty comment he glanced down at her.

Only to find himself in a situation even he himself didn't know how to get out of.