[CT] Sticky Situation

[François Laffont]

François didn’t remember that marshmallows were that sweet and sticky. Well, he should have thought for the sticky part. It wasn’t night already but some students decided to roast some by a fire and when asked, Franck accepted to have one. They weren’t small one of course and he meant to eat it slowly, one little bite at a time as it wanted to glue his jaws together. But the sweet taste of the marshmallows added to a bunch of students with lots of blood in their veins attracted insects and so Franck stuffed what remained of his in his mouth before a fly ended up stuck in it or something. Bad idea because now he had his mouth full and could barely move his jaws.

He tried to crush small pieces of the marshmallow below his teeth and swallow it slowly but it was long and his jaws soon tired of this exercise. He tried to open his mouth. He succeeded but he swallowed too much at once and he bet he just looked like his whole mouth was filled with it and he couldn’t do anything about it. This situation was ridiculous.

Franck moved away from the campfire and the other students who found the situation rather funny. He directed his steps towards the cabins when he finally managed to get the marshmallow out of his mouth. The thing fell in his hands. If roasted it looked delicious, the shapeless, chewed and wet thing in his mouth could only be qualified as disgusting. He was tempted to throw it to the ground, right there. He bet it wouldn’t take long for a bunch of flies to find this snack and try to get away with it. But he didn’t just yet. Would it be called littering? Somehow, he doubted he should be throwing it on the ground. He looked around. If he couldn’t, there must be a place where he could toss it right? Because no way that was going back in his mouth, not even in small bits.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Why in the hell Gabriela agreed to come along on this stupid camping trip she'd never know. It had seemed a good idea a the time, she was sure, but now she could hardly remember what the hell it was that had prompted her to want to come along. While the other students where all huddled around the large campfire, Gabriela was closed off in her assigned cabin as far out of sight as she could possible be from the crackling flames. Just knowing the fire was out there, just beyond the flimsy wooden door, was more than enough to make the petite brunette uncomfortable. And that she was hiding in her bunk while everyone else was laughing and having a good time because of her stupid, irrational phobia made her feel all the worse.

With a frustrated huff, Gabriela slipped out of her bunk and tugged on her sneakers. There had to be someone in one of the other cabins that hadn't decided to join into any festivities that happened to be so close to open fire. She pushed open the cabin door and stepped outside. The fire pit was located a decent distance away for safety reasons and that, at least, was met with a certain bit of relief. Still, the moment Gabriela caught sight of the flickering light and reddish orange tongues of flame it caused a stab of fear in her chest.

With her eyes locked on the fire in the distance, Gabriela hesitated just outside the doorway. She just couldn't bring herself to take even a step toward the terrifying thing. She looked to the right and left quickly, squinting in the dark as her heart began to beat loudly in her ears. Making a quick, if not ill-conceived, decision, Gabriela decided to move sideways along the small porch of the cabin and hop the railing. She moved quickly, too quickly, in fact, and, with her attention still firmly focused on the fire and not what she was doing Gabriela, predictably, slipped.

With a high-pitched squeak of surprise and alarm, Gabriela tumbled, head first, over the railing in the dark. She barely had time to contemplate what had happened before she found herself crashing into something much softer in certain parts than she expected the ground to be. There was a desperate, fumbling attempt to prevent the petite girl from flailing her way to the ground but it proved ultimately futile. She felt hands coming up to try and help but all they did was end up pulling a few flying strands of hair out on her way to the ground.

Thankfully the ground around the cabins was relatively soft with dirt and fallen leaves. Gabriela landed with an audible -thud-, face down, her arms and legs splayed out around her. The fall had stunned the small girl and she lay for the moment with her face resting in a small pile of leaves. It was such a fitting thing to happen on a night like tonight. And the day had started out so well too. At least one student's conundrum had been remedied. The glob of sticky, soggy marshmallow was no longer causing trouble in Franck's hand as it now resided firmly with the tangled mass of hair on Gabriela's head. It had been mashed in deeply by the failed attempt to save her from utter embarrassment.

[François Laffont]

Since Franck was still busy determining what he was supposed to do with that big pile of predigested marshmallow, he didn’t notice someone coming out of the cabin. Had he did, he probably would have tried to toss the marshmallow on the ground and leave before someone was to accuse him of being a peeping Tom or something. It would be ironic, to accuse the gay guy of that but he was standing there for no real apparent reason.

The little scream caught his attention of course and had him lifting up his gaze real quick to know what was going on. He was a jumpy person and he feared someone might have seen some wild animal nearby or something. But the sound was too close to come from the woods and Franck met up with Gabriela as she fell on him.

He didn’t have the time to do move away. Anyway, even if he could have, he would have tried to grab her, since she was falling down. That said, he completely forgot about the marshmallow sticking to his hand and tried to grab her so she would not hurt herself too much. He had no idea how on earth she ended up falling like this but that was not exactly important right now. The impact however and the surprise of it had Franck lose his foothold and they both ended up on the ground.

His breath left him when his back hit the ground. He had tried to grab her but she ended up in the dirt, just like him. He could still feel her fear, mixed with his surprise, causing him to pant more than he should for such an exercise. He rolled on his stomach, forced himself to sit as he tried to catch up his breath. He still had no idea what happened. “Are you hurt? What happened?” he asked Gabriela.

As he was about to extend a hand and help her despite what physical contact could do to him, he stopped. Something was wrong. The marshmallow! It was there in his hand and now it wasn’t. Did it fall to the ground? He looked around on the ground, on his clothes. Not there. He looked at Gabriela and there he saw it. He grimaced. “I don’t want to alarm you, but, uh...” he began to say with embarrassment, pointing at the back of his head so she would check the back of hers. He didn’t see that coming off easily.

[Gabriela Moreau]

The petite brunette lay in the dirt for a moment as her mind struggled valiantly to catch up with what had just happened. She had landed solidly on her torso more than anything, thankfully being spared the pleasure of her face taking the brunt of the impact and she hadn't fallen far, leading her to believe the majority of the bruising would be to her ego. Still, it fell as though her insides had been shaken up and a dull ache crept into her sides.

With a groan Gabriela pushed herself up off the ground and shifted to a sitting position. She sat, legs stretched out in front of her, hands propping herself up behind her, and looked over to Franck. It was obvious she was a little dazed as it took a moment to register the French boy sitting nearby. "I'm okay." She said quickly, before scrunching up her nose and pressing her hands to her face. "I am so sorry." She said behind her hands as she attempted to rub the embarrassment and shock from her face. The few flecks of dirt that were on her face and hands went unnoticed and as she dropped her arms and huffed a little, she'd only accomplished in smudging a few patches of dirt across her cheeks. It matched her mussed hair perfectly.

Brows furrowed and a head canted to one side curiously as Franck started pointing to the back of his own head. "My hair's not on fire is it?" She groaned, reaching up to figure out what Franck was trying to tell her. That would be the perfect end to the night. Fall while trying to avoid a fire only set yourself ablaze. It would be fitting, given Gabriela's string of bad luck as of late.

While her hair was intact and there was no burning or smoldering, a look of utter distress flashed on her face as she felt the sticky glob in her hair. "Wha-?" She stammered, her fingers tugged a little and picked at whatever it was that had found its way into her brown locks. "What is this?" She grimaced, scraping off a piece of marshmallow and looking at it. She rolled the small bit in her fingers before flicking it away and dropping her shoulders. With a low sigh she turned her gaze toward Franck. The distress and shock had vanished leaving behind a defeated, dismayed expression. "Well, this is a perfect metaphor for the last couple weeks of my life." She commented idly to herself, almost incredulously amused by how things had turned out in recent days. "I'm really sorry if you were going to eat this." She said, lifting a hand to point at the glob of marshmallow.

[François Laffont]

Franck did mean to grab Gabriela. He would even have let her land on him if he could. But it all happened so fast, slowing down her fall was the best he could. And he didn’t do it quite right. He landed on his side pretty hard and it was now hurting. But it was nothing compared to falling head first in the dirt. He was really sorry for her and this feeling made it hard for the boy to get a good reading at Gabriela’s feelings. Of course, the fact her embarrassment might exacerbate his didn’t even come to his mind.

She didn’t seem too injured. At least she was not bleeding from her nose and was not spitting out dirt. And Franck felt too sorry for her to really point out the strike to her ego. She was safe now, it was what mattered. Now, if he could only do something about the marshmallow...

For a moment, Franck thought she was about to cry on him. It was only then that he finally realised how embarrassed she felt. It made him feel worse actually. And she had yet any idea what happened to her hair. “It’s alright. You’re not hurt, it’s what matters,” he said, trying to sound sympathetic. He did feel bad for her but he knew that kind of shame would not wash off just because someone said it was okay. Sadly, Franck had no idea what else to do. Other than add more to her misery.

He was quite surprised when she feared her hair was on fire. “What, no, no, no, nothing like that,” he replied quickly. Of course, that didn’t make it any less embarrassing for Franck to admit his marshmallow was now stuck in her hair. It might not be fire but it wasn’t great either. Not to add that he would know what to do with fire. Of course, she would have sensed it by now had her hair been set ablaze. As she reached for the back of her head, Franck was ready for an outburst of rage. Who wouldn’t be pissed? What had he been doing with that and how come it was not in her hair? Franck would blush at the mere thought of answering that.

She didn't yell at him. She didn’t cry about her hair being ruined. She sighed and felt miserable. Which made Franck feel miserable. It made him feel bad for worrying about his sake once she’ll find out. As she apologized, he shook his head slowly. “I should apologize. I was there with it in my hands, wondering if I could just toss it to the ground and I ended up putting it in your hair trying to help you,” he said. Well, that didn’t sound so good. He tried to give her a smile, look reassuring. “Maybe it’ll come off not that bad. If we wash it or something...” he told her. That didn't sound comforting at all did it?

[Gabriela Moreau]

There was no explosion of anger and rage. No outburst of profanity. No tears or even an expression of being largely upset. Gabriela almost seemed resigned to what fate had delivered upon her the past few weeks. It hadn't been anything that, in and of itself, would be considered heart breaking or devastating, but it did seem the poor girl had simply ran into a stretch of bad luck and a sticky mess mashed into her hair just seemed the icing on top. Almost literally. She blew a strand of dark hair from he face and sighed.

"No. I'm okay." She confirmed,scrunching her nose up as she pressed a hand against her side. "Shaken up a little but that's all." Gabriela still had that dull ache that had crept into her body after the fall. That wasn't pleasant or anything but it was nothing compared to what could've happened. Franck had probably altered her path to the ground enough to prevent her from face planting and possibly busting her nose. At least she could be thankful for small miracles. She could only imagine how sad and pathetic she'd look with marshmallow in her hair, dirt on her face, and blood streaming from a crooked nose.

Gabriela laughed at Franck's explanation. Really? What luck. The marshmallow he was trying to get rid of ended up stuck in her hair. What were the odds? "Well, it's been a hell of a couple weeks." She said admitted between chuckles. And it had been. And she should be upset over having the sticky thing on her hair but she figured, in the grand scheme of things, a marshmallow was far better than a huge wad of gum. She was a girl. She had long hair. These things happened and she sort of new how to deal with it.

She didn't move from her sitting position, although she did reach down to brush some dirt and a leave that had stuck to her bare knee away. "Thanks, though." She said, turning her eyes up to Franck. She decided that by staying seated upon the ground she'd prevent herself from getting into any more trouble. At least for now. "You probably saved me from smashing my face on the ground." She offered, sensing the emotions coming from Franck. He'd tried to help her while she was doing something pretty stupid. For that he should deserve credit, not grief.

"Warm, soapy water." Gabriela said with a nod. At least she hoped that would be enough to get the marshmallow out. She wasn't waiting for Franck to go fetch the water and soap or anything but she did seem content to sit for the moment. She was, in fact, still a little stunned over the whole thing and was just fine with getting her bearings.

[François Laffont]

That sad resignation he got from Gabriela while he expected anger or tears actually brought more sympathy out of him than any other behaviour. He knew it might not be that good of an idea to come over and hug her, as it would make her despair over this stronger on the boy but it would not be the first time he went through what he could feel to make one feel better. What was the point of having empathy as a power if he was not using it sometimes? And since he was not Elsa or Ellen, he would use it to do good around him and not for his own profit, even if he profited from it, in a way. It must be a thing from people whose name starts with the letters EL, they were opportunistic and a selfish. No, he shouldn’t compare them as if they were the same. In fact, he should ignore them and focus on Gabriela, whom he wanted to hug still.

He wasn’t sure if the laugh was a good or a bad sign. Maybe he should just go, hide away. No, he knew he’d never be able to do that. If he did, it was able to eat him away and have him grow an ulcer just out of guilt. He grimaced as he tried to keep his smile on. She just admitted he was the last of a long series of unfortunate events and that did nothing to make him feel better. He scooted closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to be comforting with that gesture. He hoped he was. Being able to sense one’s feelings didn’t mean he knew how to react to it. His power didn’t come with a manual as to how to respond to whatever emotions he sensed.

His smile grew a little more genuine as she thanked him. “Still, it’s my fault if you’ve got that in your hair. Let me help you,” he said,, looking around as if some marshmallow remover would have magically appeared close by. Of course, it did not. But he could fetch water he supposed. She agreed that water could do the trick. “I’ll get you some. There must be a bucket somewhere, I’ll just place it near the fire and it will be fine,” he said, perhaps with more enthusiasm than he had. He was eager to fix his mistake.

Franck stood up and before she could object to his plan. “If you don’t want anyone to see you like this, you can stay here, or find soap,” he told her before leaving her there.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela still remained sitting for the moment as her mind fully caught up with the recent events. With a frown she glanced down and went to poke and prod at her ribs, her stomach, neck, and even her head. Okay, so she wasn't hurt, there was only the issue of the marshmallow stuck in her hair. Right. That sucked. But given that she hadn't busted her face in front of this guy, she would, overall, consider it a win. She inhaled deeply, almost lost in her own world even as Franck spoke, and exhaled slowly in an attempt to settle herself completely.

Finally, her dark eyes fluttered upward to actually get a good look at her partial savior, after all, while his flailing did cause the marshmallow deal, it had probably kept her from seriously hurting herself. For that she was thankful. She smiled warmly and nodded. "I'll be alright." She said, shifting to get to her feet. "I-" She stopped at the mention of the fire and shook her head with a frown. "I can't go near the fire." She said meekly, almost embarrassed at the reasons why. She leaned down to brush the dirt and leaves from the front of her shirt and shorts. "But I'll at least round up some soap?" She almost half asked as she stood straight again and looked to Franck. She certainly didn't want to take advantage of his obvious feelings of guilt toward her predicament, but she did appreciate his willingness to help.

"And look." She said with an assuring nod. Gabriela was beginning to settle after the unexpected turn of events. She wasn't one to feel sorry for herself or over react but she was an emotional girl prone to emotional reactions. Eventually, though, the logical center of her brain would take over and start to see the bigger picture. "You don't need to worry." She smiled a little. "I should be thanking you." She reasoned with a shrug. "If given a choice between a marshmallow in my hair, or busting my face on the ground... well..." He shrugged again. The answer was obvious.

[François Laffont]

Franck did hesitate, oh for one brief moment, when Gabriela argued she couldn’t get near the fire. He thought it had more to do with the other students than the actual fire however. He could understand she might not want everyone to see her in that state and so simply gestured for her to stay there. “I’ll be right back,” he assured., not even listening to her as she said she would get some soap. Anyway, he already ran out to fetch a bucket and get some water from the lake. It was cold however and so warmed it by the fire. Should anyone ask what he was doing, he only said that someone needed some water and he said he’d fetch it. No one seemed to really care as to why water was needed. They were too busy with marshmallows, painful reminder for Franck, and stories and songs.

The fact Gabriela thanked him, pointed out that a bit of candy stuck in her hair was little compared to blood all over her face, did make him feel better somehow. But Franck couldn’t just leave her there and pretend nothing happened. If some could, he was not like that. He wasn’t saying that he would wash her hair or anything, let alone start chatting like a hairdresser, sharing bits of their life while he fixed his mistake. That kind of gay cliché was funny at best for him. He knew he might be more sensitive than some guys, he blamed his power mostly for that, and that he was very conscious of the image he projected. But he was not to the point of going “Bitch, you are faaaaabulous,” on anyone.

“You still there? I got you some water,” he said out loud as he returned by her cabin with the bucket now that the water had warmed a little. He wasn’t seeing her but perhaps she was inside looking for soap or something. He didn’t think it would be alright to come in. Although he would be of no harm to any girl in there, there was a reason why they separated boys from girls. And Gabriela had no idea he was gay. He didn’t want her to get any ideas.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela was determined to make the best of the situation and not be seen as some sort of damsel in distress in the eyes of Franck. Not that it would matter one way or the other, nor had Franck said or done anything to make her feel he was being anything other than simply polite, but it was an internal thing for the petite girl. She'd invaded the small supply shed just behind the staff cabin and, after an inordinate amount of time fumbling in the dark using just her cell phone screen (which, much to her dismay, she found to have been cracked in the fall) as light.

She'd been making her way back toward her cabin when she heard Franck's voice. She'd almost forgotten about the sticky mess in her hair during her adventure and really wasn't making much of an attempt to hide it, although there wasn't anyone around regardless. "I'm here!" She said, rounding the corner of the cabin with the large bottle of soap held in both hands. "This should work." She said, holding it up slightly.

Gabriela's eyes lit up as she caught sight of the bucket of water. "Oh, god, thank you." She said, looking to Franck with a bit of a smile. All things considered, she wasn't in bad shape. She really couldn't complain. "I'll have to soak my head for a while." She explained. That was the only part that made her frown, sitting still with her head dunked in a bucket of water certainly wasn't her idea of a good time. "I'll just set it up in the cabin and then I'll let you go." She said, smiling thankfully up at Franck. She wasn't going to ask him to stick around and keep her company, but she silently wished he would. She liked the idea of having someone to chat with while her head was in a bucket.

[François Laffont]

François was obviously not trying to get in Gabriela’s pants or to look good in her eyes. He didn’t pity her, at least, not the way she might fear he did. He felt bad because he put her in that situation. She jumped in her own free will but she wouldn’t be in this situation had Franck just tossed the marshmallow away before. She would then only have a wounded pride, one he could assure was still quite intact for him and he could be leaving her without feeling bad. Instead, she needed to get something off her hair and that was his fault.

He joined her when he heard Gabriela answer him. She found some soap and he had the water. He did tell her he’d fetch her some yet she actually seemed glad, almost surprised even, that he did. She explained she would have to soak her head. “How do you want to do that? I mean, it might not be very comfortable to just sit there with your head in the bucket,” he said. Yet it was how she would have to do it. Maybe there was a way for her to place everything like it would be in a salon? He was trying to see how it was possible when she mentioned her cabin and that he could go. Right. He doubted anyone would allow him to get in a girls’ cabin. Even though they had a lot less to risk than the boys in his.

“I can bring it to your cabin if you want?” he suggested. He then realized how it might sound to one who didn’t know him. “I won’t try anything, I promise. I’m the last one you should worry about being inappropriate in there,” he assured. He was not downright admitting being gay but it was what it implied and she was free to believe whatever she wanted. “I mean, I’m not saying you can’t kick me out after, I just mean to help you set everything in place. I feel kind of bad about it, it was my marshmallow,” he said. He didn’t want to impose but he didn’t want to feel like he owed her anything for putting her through this.

[Gabriela Moreau]

Gabriela smiled at Franck's obvious concern for her comfort. Yes, the idea of sitting with her head in a bucket of warm, soapy water wasn't appealing in anyway and she was, in a way, dreading it, it certainly beat the alternative. "It's either head in a bucket or I pull a Britney Spears and shave my head." She replied with a laugh as she started for her cabin.

She did actually breathe a sigh of relief when Franck offered to transport the bucket and, by proxy, himself inside. "Thank you so much." Gabriela said again, glancing over her shoulder as she pulled open the door and held it for Franck. Her brows then furrowed as he continued speaking. She waved a hand dismissively and gave a light laugh. "Oh, I don't worry. I mean, I'd just, like, set your head on fire or something if that was the case." She had laughed while she talked but her eyes closed and she sighed at her terrible attempt at humor. Her head shook as Franck passed with the water.

"Yeah, sorry." She offered sheepishly, hoping she could recover from her horrible joke. "No, actually, it's cool." She said in a vain attempt to salvage the situation. "I could use the company, actually. The only thing worse than having to sit with your head in a bucket for half an hour is doing it alone."

[François Laffont]

As Gabriela pointed out the alternatives she had, he chuckled. “If you see it like that, of course,” he admitted, shrugging slightly but still being careful he would not drop too much water while moving. It would make the whole act of fetching her some water and warming it up kind of pointless if he dropped it all on the ground.

She seemed ready to let him in without even questioning his motive one second, which could make it unnecessary to say he wouldn’t try anything but he still said it. He didn't get anything out of her that would tell him she wanted to flirt with him but he preferred to make certain things clear. You just never know. The reason why she didn't worry about him however had him freeze where he stood, staring at her. “Wow. Well, I’m warned,” he said before laughing. He followed her inside the cabin. He hoped no monitor would show up. He didn’t want to try and justify his presence here, say it was fine because anyway he was gay and all.

Since he didn't sense she seriously threaten to burn him up, he wasn’t too scared. Not to add that he didn't see what he could do to have her try that. After all, if you toss marshmallow at a girl’s hair and she wasn’t already running after you with an axe, you should be safe. “I wouldn’t mind keeping you company,” he said. If she said it like that he can only assume it was an invitation. Otherwise she would have just asked him to fetch her one of her friends or something. “I’m Franck, by the way,” he added, realizing they had yet introduced themselves. So many other more important things happened before they didn’t think doing that.

[Gabriela Moreau]

There was a single dreadful moment that seemed to stretch in Gabriela's mind as she really did fear she'd made a fool of herself in some way by threatening to set the boy's head on fire if he tried anything. It was a misguided attempt at humor, sure, but she was really just implying she wasn't worried about anything of that nature in general, not that she'd readily set people on fire. Thankfully, Franck shattered that agonizing single second with a laugh and Gabriela breathed a sigh of relief and grinned widely as she went to follow Franck inside.

More relief washed over the petite girl as Franck also agreed to stick around. She had little desire to sit by herself while the warm, soapy water did its business and loosened up the sticky mess that had gotten stuck in her hair. She'd probably be picking out little pieces of marshmallow all night anyway. "Gabriela." She responded in kind, casting a brief smile to Franck before shifting her gaze to the bucket and giving a frown. "Well, here goes."

The bucket was easily propped up on a step stool that had been stowed in the corner of the cabin, putting it at a height where Gabriela could lay on her designated bunk and, while hanging over the edge, settled her head upon the edge of the bucket in order to get the sugary clump immersed in the water with relative ease. It was still an awkward, horribly uncomfortable, and utterly comical looking scene, but she was determined to make the best of it. "I know." Gabriela said, sighing with mock arrogance as she settled into a decently less uncomfortable position. "Every guy's dream right here." She then grinned widely, her eyes gleaming at the humor of the situation. After all, Gabriela found it dreadfully easy to laugh at herself even in times like these.

[François Laffont]

Franck tried not to think much about her false threat. He had to think of it as what it really was, a warning that she was not little helpless girl despite what he might think. And if she was confident nothing will happen between them without her wanting to, Franck felt no need then to admit he was gay in more explicit terms. She wasn’t afraid he’ll jump on her and that really was all that mattered here.

He helped her place the bucket. As she positioned her head to allow the marshmallow to soak in the water, Franck tried to place a pillow under her head so her neck wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. He looked around for towels. There ought to be some, right, in case people chose to jump in the lake? He figured they must have brought theirs and Franck wouldn’t go as far as looking in her stuff so he forgot about towels for now.

He had a little smile on his face as he sat near her. She joked about this being every guy’s dream. “I don’t know, everyone seems to think gays must be stylist or hairdresser. Maybe it is a dream come true,” he commented. Or not. It was clear by his expression this was but a joke. Looks like he told her he was gay in more direct terms in the end. Not like he minded really. He meant to tell her in the first place to make her feel more comfortable he simply delayed things a little. “Do I have to play my fingers in your hair while letting you empty your heart on me? I can even call you darling or princess if you want but don’t ask me to fake the accents they have on television. With the one I already have, you imagine what it will sound like,” he even added with a chuckle. He wasn’t that interested in playing in her hair, or more not very interested in playing with that marshmallow.