{SCE} Don't Talk.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor woke in the middle of the night with a start.  The images from the nightmare still lingered in his mind and the anxiety in his chest.  He'd always found himself more prone to the terrible dreams when he was stressed or hadn't been able to properly keep his mind focused.  Out in the middle of nowhere without a means to keep the constant stimulation his mind required going and dealing with his new brother whom he'd beaten to a pulp and the added uncertainty of a certain dark haired, blue eyed girl it was a wonder Taylor had been able to get to sleep at all.

With a sober, stoic expression, Taylor tugged on his shows and climbed out of his makeshift tent-like contraption.  He wrapped his blanket tighter around himself as he trudged through the darkness.  Lucy wasn't far away and he knew the direction she was in even in the black of night.  Even though he'd approached the brunette with caution in the past, tonight was different.  He'd barely slept since leaving the Academy and was beginning to reach the end of his rope before being pulled from what restless sleep he'd managed to get by the long dormant memories.

There was no hesitation in his movements.  Taylor didn't bother announcing his presence, he simply slipped into Lucy's shelter and immediately moved to where she lay, huddled within her own cocoon of blankets.  She stirred, which he expected, as he entered.  He hadn't attempted to remain silent, knowing it would disturb the girl but he was in no mood to hear anything she may or may not spout in his direction.  A hand came out, his finger pressing gently against her lips the moment he saw her eyes flutter open.  "Shhh."  He said softly as he was already crawling his way into the blankets, adding his own to the pile.  His arm went around her and pulled her close.  He wasn't giving her a choice in the matter.  He needed someone and Lucy was the lucky selection.  "Don't talk."  He murmured.

[Lucy James]

The sounds and the movements had the brunette stirring; she had always been a light sleeper, which lately, seemed to be a good thing, considering how much traffic there seemed to be in and out of her shelter the past few days. First that other Irish moron, and now Tay? Opening her eyes, the brunette's brows furrowed, but before she was offered much of a chance to react, she felt a finger against her lip. Hadn't it been for the simple fact that she could recognize his power, Lucy would have reacted differently.

Instead, she simply groaned in protest, but did as she was told. With a sigh, her hand moved to one of his, pulling up to her lips, brushing them slowly against his knuckles before interlocking their fingers and bringing them to rest underneath her chin. For once, Lucy didn't really mind not being allowed to talk. She'd welcome sleep instead, and her mind was far too muddled for her to really question it all.

Besides, she had found herself finding Taylor's presence more and more comfortable. Especially now that she was already groggy from having being woken up.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor let out a low, contented sigh as he found the girl receptive to his presence. It wasn't as if he gave her a choice this time and he'd made his intentions very clear. He wasn't there for entertainment, he wasn't there for anything physical, save for simply being in the girl's presence. Taylor, to put it bluntly, was there because he wanted to be close to Lucy. In her, in spite of everything, he found peace and solace from the emotional turmoil that had wrested him from sleep. The moment he felt her lips grazing softly against his skin he couldn't help a small smile. The tiny gesture, as innocent as it may have been, succeeded in melting away his anxiety. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss upon her shoulder before settling fully in.

When dawn broke over the makeshift camp, Taylor squinted from the sunlight that filtered through and let out a low grown. Even though he'd fallen asleep shortly after relocating and, much to his surprise, had gotten a more sound rest than he'd had since they'd got out into the woods, Taylor had no intentions on getting up anytime soon. He buried his face into Lucy's hair in a desperate attempt to ward off the coming morning.

[Lucy James]

Shifting slightly at the movement, the brunette let out a faint complaining sound, almost like a soft groan. Her free hand came up to rub her eyes as she dipped her head forward; she'd yet to get used to the whole sleeping in a makeshift shelter in the middle of the forest. Back at the school she could at least pull the blinds down and shut the sun out. Here however, it was a lot more difficult. She didn't know what had brought Taylor in last night, and she wasn't about to ask either. She figured it was the very same thing that had happened the first time they'd spent the night together; probably another nightmare.

Turning around, the brunette buried her head against his neck in another attempt to shut the sunlight out. She rested her flat palms against his chest, her fingers curling slightly at the tips. She had never been one for spending the night like this with someone, and she was actually rather surprised that she'd successfully managed to sleep through the entire night without getting disturbed, considering how lightly she slept. "You're lucky I'm too tired to kick you out," she whispered, her voice muffled against his skin, but nowhere near being hostile.

[Taylor McCarthy]

"Mmhmm." Came the mumbled response. When Lucy turned and pressed her face into him his old on her tightened some. He welcomed the affectionate gesture and, even in his foggy, sleep addled mental state, understood the sheer enormity of it. The words Lucy spoke were now beginning act as stark contrasts to her actions. He was starting to get used to it and, in a way, found it almost endearing.

For a few minutes it seemed as though the two of them would be able to allow sleep to take them again. This notion was dashed as the blare of an air horn cut through the silence, causing birds nearby to squawk and flutter away. The bellowing of the muscle-bound psycho who seemed to be getting off on all this survivalist crap just punctuated that they were going to have to get up. Whether they wanted to or not. As the rest of the campers began to stir and make noise outside the makeshift tent, Taylor sighed softly, still refusing to relinquish his hold upon the girl. She was warm, soft, and her presence welcome. "If we're quick we can probably get away before they make us do some stupid job." He said reluctantly.

[Lucy James]

Lucy's eyes opened at the sudden sound of the horn and without moving, she tossed a glare towards the entrance of the shelter. A soft sigh fell from her lips then as she pulled her head back far enough for a hand to slip up to rub her eyes. "Don't mention work," she groaned, her hand moving from her eyes to brush her hair away from her face. Another thing she hated about this trip; waking up when someone else decided that she had to, instead of deciding that entirely herself.

But there was little to be done about it. She'd rather not have any of the teachers come inside and drag her out.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Lucy reached for her bag. "Let's hope another student keeps them busy then." Pulling off her PJ t-shirt, the brunette plucked out a black singlet and a blue, button-up shirt. With sluggish movements as she was still only half away, she somehow managed to pull the singlet over her head and down her slender frame before pulling the shirt on. Her eyes slid shut again as her fingers started working on the various buttons.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Another low groan escaped, this one reluctant as Lucy pulled from Taylor's embrace. He let her go, though, as it became apparent they weren't going to be allowed a late start on whatever activities the teachers had in store for them. Maybe one day they would have their moment and it wouldn't be interrupted by noisy teachers or annoying bouts of evasiveness and distraction.

"We can hope." Taylor agreed, shifting to a sitting position and making himself as small as possible so Lucy could go about getting dressed. Leaning over he lifted the corner of the flap covering the entrance to Lucy's little makeshift haven and peered out into the gray morning. As expected, the big guy was tromping around doing big guy things while the other two adults were fluttering about. They weren't pulling kids out of their domiciles, per se, but Taylor still didn't want to be in Lucy's space when they came around.

And then a miracle happened. One of the kids outside started squawking. Not literally, of course, but rather a profanity laden tirade ripping into the teachers pulled the attention of the entire camp. Taylor's eyes narrowed as all three teachers turned toward the kid who was shouting something about conspiracy theories, evil cats and the importance of having enough Snickers around because he tended to get cranky when hungry. "There's our chance." Taylor said, reaching down to tug on the shoes he'd kicked off during the night. He was already clothed, thankfully, and only needed to retrieve the heavy sweater he'd brought along with him the night before.

[Lucy James]

Sighing, her hands dropped from the buttons as she instead focused on getting the rest of herself dressed, Lucy pulled on her shoes and grabbed one of her many sweatshirts before nodding. "Alright, let's get the hell away from this pit of crazy before I join that kid." Without waiting for a response, Lucy moved out of the shelter, circled around it and jogged towards the treeline. Only when she figured she'd gotten far enough away not to get noticed did she turn around to see if the boy was following her.

Leaning against one of the trees, the brunette tied the sweatshirt around her waist and shook her head. If only this trip could get over already. She couldn't wait to get back and spend an entire day under the shower head. Nothing was quite like standing under pouring, hot water. It was a luxury wasn't quite ready to let go of just yet - or a warm, comfortable bed, as opposed to those horrible, horrible shelters. Leaning her back against the tree then, her hand came up to comb her fingers through her curly hair. 

[Taylor McCarthy]

Yes, without a doubt Taylor had slipped from the shelter and had slunk away from camp along with Lucy. He'd little reason to want to stick around and be subjected to whatever shenanigans or poor excuse for 'character building' exercises, or whatever the hell it was the teachers had planned. Hell if Taylor knew. He was an unwilling participant much like most of the others. There had been that one, weird chick with funky hair that seemed to be happy with this arrangement but Taylor suspected her opinion wasn't share by many others.

Once they'd gotten away and Lucy paused to lean against a tree, Taylor slowed his jog to a walk and moved up beside her. His eyes scanned the wooded area a bit before he looked to her and quickly closed the gap. A hand came up to rest upon the side of her neck, his thumb brushing lightly against her cheek. "Thanks for not kicking me out last night." He said quietly before leaning in to place a chaste, but affectionate kiss on her forehead.

[Lucy James]

Her eyes shifted and lifted to look at Taylor's face as he drew closer. For once, the brunette didn't tense under his touch and instead, she almost relaxed. Moving her hands to his sides, her fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt. "You didn't exactly leave me with a whole lot of choice." Without waiting for a response, she tugged the boy closer and dipped her head backwards. Of course, she would never actually admit to not really minding having him there. They weren't quite there yet.

But for the time being, Lucy didn't really mind not pulling away. Whatever that meant.

Leaning up onto the tips of her toes, the brunette sighed as she pushed her chin forward. "Besides, it was cold," she shrugged, a sly smirk forming on her lips as she placed a quick peck on his lips. Hey, who would ever say no to free heating when you were stuck in the middle of nowhere? "What now?"

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor wasn't going to say a thing to ruin the fleeting moment. He was beginning to suspect even Lucy didn't believe her words anymore and was merely going through the motions of downplaying what was obviously happening between them. He welcomed being pulled closer, the feel of her hands against him and the soft kiss she placed against his lips. It all simply felt right as if it was his reward for not giving up on her and now, here he was. Lucy had willingly offered a gesture of affection and, most importantly, she was smiling.

His hands went to settled upon her waist as she drew him in. He resisted the urge (for now) to kiss her again. Now wasn't the time as they were faced with a dilemma. They had to put more distance between themselves and the camp without running the risk of getting lost. Taylor was no survival expert and didn't even have any of his meager gear on hand anyway. He sighed, then shrugged and glanced out over the wooded area. "We could always take the path that leads down to the river." He suggested. "I don't know about you but I'll feel better the more distance we put between us and the freakshow back there."

[Lucy James]

Her gaze shifted towards the forest and Lucy nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." She had to agree too, the further away they were, the better. If they kept standing around here like this, it was only a matter of time before someone found them, and that would kind of have made the whole idea of getting away in the first place pointless. Besides, being down by the river right now sounded like an awfully good plan.

Letting go of his shirt, Lucy's eyes moved back to his. She kept her gaze locked on his as she shifted, moving under his arm to get away all the while an almost coy smile played on her lips. Once she'd gotten out of his 'grip', Lucy turned her back against him. "I don't know about you, but I'm going for a swim." If anything, that would probably help her wake up some too, considering how she still felt the sleep tugging at the back of her mind.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor gave a nod as he matched her little smirk with one of his own. He wasn't a big fan of the idea of swimming this early, though. The water was sure to be frigid still and Taylor wasn't about getting hypothermia just yet. Still, it beat the alternative of standing around like a jackass and getting hauled back to camp for whatever was planned. So, he brought a hand up to Lucy's shoulder, gave her a short kiss to the side of her head and started off toward the path in question.

A little ways along the well worn trail, Taylor decided he'd best come clean about his interaction with Lucy's clone. The last thing he wanted was for Lucy to find out he'd been questioning the physical manifestation of her inner most thoughts and run the risk of ruining what they had built. "I talked to your... clone." He said suddenly. "But don't worry." He spoke up before Lucy had a chance to get angry and respond. "She didn't tell me anything you haven't already." Which wasn't much and Taylor suspected Lucy hadn't purposely given him the information he was speaking about. "It... doesn't change anything, Lucy." He said, his tone softening as he looked to her, almost embarrassed at his admission. "I still don't want anything out of you other than being yourself."

[Lucy James]

Pausing, Lucy's eyes rested on the area before her as she made her way, slowly, towards the river area. She didn't particularly enjoy the idea of Taylor being around her clone, but that wasn't the most pressing issue. What had he done there to begin with? Narrowing her eyes, the brunette nodded ever so slowly as she contemplated his words, choosing her own very, very carefully.

"So, what were you doing around her in the first place? She hardly strikes me as the type someone would just approach out of the blue." Lucy stopped at that, turning to look at him. "Did you purposely seek her out in hopes to find something out, or did you two just happen to be at the same spot, at the same time?" It was obvious That Lucy didn't like this, nor particularly trust it.

"And don't even bother lying, because as we both know, she's not ever good at keeping secrets." Her arms crossed over her chest as her blue eyes followed Taylor's movements. Maybe she had nothing to get on edge about, but for once, she just wished that he hadn't tried going out of his way to find something out she didn't want or was ready for him to know. "What did she say?"

[Taylor McCarthy]

"Went looking for her." Taylor said honestly. He wasn't going to hide anything about his conversation with Lucy's duplicate. He already felt as though she would have every right to accuse him of betraying what little trust he'd managed to foster, the last thing he wanted was to make it worse. "I was curious about her and you. I'm not going to lie or try and keep anything from you. I know I went behind your back and I'm sorry." There was a certain submissiveness to Taylor's tone. He knew his reasons for doing what he did and, while his head may have made a mistake, his heart was in the right place. She had to know this. "I'm trying to understand you, Lucy." He said, his tone soft. "Not for my own curiosity or twisted reasons." He pointed out quickly. "I want to know... how to be there for you if you need me." His eyes searched hers. He never wanted to hurt or betray her but he feared he'd done both without realizing it.

"She told me you'd been hurt a long time ago, and that's why you keep people away." He glanced down for a moment, returned his gaze to Lucy's, then dared to take a step closer to her. "She also told me I confuse you because you're not sure how to deal with someone who cares about you." Taylor had already know this. He could tell in the way she looked at him when he drew closer; a flash of the familiar icy, apathetic glare giving way to resignation as evident by the night before when he'd crept into her shelter. "And, for what it's worth, you scare me Lucy." It was only fair he offer her as much as he had gotten from her duplicate. "You know as well as I do how much easier it is when you're alone. You don't have to remember birthdays, or apologize. Don't ever have to watch your tongue or not say what's on your mind." His head shook. "But here I am breaking my own rules and telling you how I feel."

Taylor glanced down as he carefully pieced together his next words. "I think about you a lot." His gaze lifted again and he gave a bit of an exasperated smile, as if he couldn't believe what he was about to say. "I miss you when you're not around. I... feel like I'm flying when you smile at me." He drew closer, daring, now, to reach a hand up to her cheek and, if she'd let him, allowing his fingertips to graze ever so slightly across her skin. By now, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I want to see you happy. That's all."