War of the Sexes

Chapter 17

I sat down next to Clayton, our bodies almost touching. He sighed, resting his forearms on his knees. I sat stiffly next to him, cautious of John only a few yards away.

“You’re not as bad as they say” Clayton mumbled, looking at the ground “Maybe its because you’re from a different time period”

“What do you mean?” I whispered, barely audible. Clayton heard though. He straightened up, his arm brushing against mine.

“You’re not mean or evil” He explained “You’re quiet and shy. The smallest things scare you, and you’ve taken more abuse than most girls would. I admire that about you”

I bit my lip, a heat coming to my cheeks. “Th-thanks”

He laughed “And you stutter when you’re nervous or scared.”

“I’m sorry?” I asked, not sure if I should be or not.

“Don’t be” He grinned “Its… interesting”

I felt my blush deepen as I looked away, trying desperately to drop the conversation. I wasn’t one to take compliments. I felt myself blushing every time. That was my instant reaction to them.

Clayton sighed again, trying to get my attention. I peeked at him through my hair, holding back a smile.

“I’m sorry about John” He said.

I nodded, not really sure what to say.

“He can’t get it through his mind people are different.” Clayton explained “I know I treated you terribly in the beginning, but I never had the hate for girls that John had.”

“I understand” I whispered.

He nodded, yawning.

“Clayton?” I whispered. “Can I ask you something?”

He nodded “Anything”

“Wh…what happens if you find an animal?”

He looked at me curiously “You take it to the Breeding Station”

“What’s that?”

He snorted “Its where we breed the animals to try and bring back any of the population. Its one of the few things the Girls are helping us with”

I noticed the way he said the word ‘girl’´ was much different from John’s tone. I preferred Clayton’s tone more.

“What if you don’t want to take it there?”

“Ellie…” He trailed off “What are you getting at?”

“Nothing” I said, wrapping my arms around my knees “Just nothing”

Clayton didn’t say anything else. We sat in silence for a while, our breathing the only sound in the forest. The tension was thick in the air. I was thankful Clayton didn’t know what to make of our kiss. At the same time, I wish he would say something about it.

It felt weird without us bringing it up.

Clayton stood up, his joints cracking. “Let’s go see if John’s cooled down any”

I followed in his lead, getting to my feet and walking after him. Clayton must’ve known the way back for I realized I had traveled a lot farther than I had imagined.

After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached out destination. John sat on the ground, legs crossed, head buried in his hands. I stood cautiously behind Clayton, hoping I was hidden from view.

“Hey man, you alright now?” Clayton asked his a soft voice.

John sighed, moving his hands away. His eyes were focused on the ground, hair covering most of his face. “Yeah, I’m fine”

“Alright.” Clayton sounded relieved. “We need to get Ellie something to wear”

I bit my lip, feelings self-conscience. After all, I was wearing my underwear and a bra. That was it.

“She’s not using something of mine” John snapped.

“I get that dude” Clayton said, trying to keep John’s temper down. “What I’m saying is we have to go back and get her something to wear”

“We can’t dude, you know that”

“We have no choice”

“Yes we do. We just don’t go”

“I’m not doing that, man.” Clayton growled “What has she done to you? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!”

John grumbled something under his breath turning away from us. “Whatever. Give her my stupid jacket.”

Clayton grinned in victory, grabbing John’s jacket. He passed it over to me. I slipped it on, trying to zipper it again. As I looked down, I noticed that it was already on me.

John snorted. His gaze fell on me, eyes calling me stupid. “This isn’t the 21st century anymore. We’re advanced. Jackets zip themselves up now”

I narrowed my eyes slightly annoyed with his attitude. He was so full of himself. I looked at Clayton and found myself looking into a pair of eyes.

He smiled “Warmer?”

I nodded. “thank you”

“You better be grateful” John muttered just loud enough for me to hear. Clayton glared at him, kicking his shin. John grunted in pain.

I turned around, walking over to a patch of dry land. I sat down, holding my knees to my chest. I shivered slightly, thankful that I had John’s jacket around me.

He glared at me, eyes sending chills down my spine. I averted my eyes, careful not to look his way.

“So, Ellie” Clayton said, sitting down next to me “John and I have been thinking, and we really only have a few options to chose from”

“For what?” I whispered. What were they going to do? Were they going to go back to beating me? Was Clayton defending me for nothing?

“Well, we can’t have you staying with us forever” Clayton sighed “You’re the enemy. They’ll kill us all if we’re found hiding you”

“Oh..” I felt guilt wash through me “I-I’m sorry!”

“You should be Leech!” John growled at me. I cowered back slightly.

Clayton glared at John before continuing “Don’t be. You aren’t from this era.”

I nodded, refusing to respond. John snorted rolling his eyes. Clayton shot him another look.

“Anyways” Clayton cleared his throat “We can either let you go now or we can take you to someone who will get you to the Girl’s Side”

“I vote we ditch the bitch” John said.

I groaned, frustrated with him.

“You got something to say?” John growled at me. I blinked, looking up. John

had stood up and was towering over me, fists clenched.

My mouth grew dry all of the sudden. I opened it to response. Nothing came out.

I closed it, shaking my head no.

“That’s what I thought”

Clayton flipped John off, looking at me “Just ignore him. He’s mad because he didn’t get his way for once in his life”

I let out a laugh.

John threw a stone at me.