Following on from last time. The group all decided to get together for a test of courage. With Owen and Matt having just finished, the next group were ready to leave.[Pair 2 - Bella & Ethan]
"Alright… We are off!" Ethan and Bella left with a rather anticlimactic departure. No one cared about them leaving and no one really was worried about them getting scared. It was just a regular brother and sister pairing that no one really wanted to know about. The two of them walked down the path with Bella latching onto Ethan closely pulling at his clothes as to not get lost.
"Don"t worry…" Ethan said. "I"ll protect you…"
Despite Ethan"s trusty words, he only seemed that way on the outside. Compared to the last time where he was blinded by love. This time he has his full attention of the horrors ahead. What awaits him, he didn"t know. He could only hope that whatever it was would kill his sister first and give him time to run.
"S-so…" Bella spoke. "How have things been… lately?"
"Huh? Alright, I guess. Nothing too major has been happening. Pretty interesting that you are asking."
"I"m just… after the pool… I can"t help but worry."
They continued to walk down the path with Ethan giving slight glances to his sister that seemed concerned about him.
"It"s alright," Ethan said placing his hand on Bella"s head. "I"ve got good friends looking out for me… you don"t have to worry about it. They"ll look after me."
Bella looked at his smiling brother who trusted Owen and Sean more than she thought. Even with all the insults and arguments, it seemed as if they had complete trust with each other.
"Hmph…" Bella said sulking and tightening her grip around her brother"s hand. "Last time I left it to him he messed it all up."
They continued to walk and arrived back quicker than they expected. They were too distracted with their conversation to care about what was around them.
[Pair 3 - Ruby & Simon]
"This isn"t so bad," Simon said as if he had prepared for the worst.
"It"s only bad if you complain. Jeez… I tried so hard to be with Owen…" Ruby said reevaluating her cheating method. "Where did I go wrong?"
"Sorry, I"m not him…" Simon said.
"I see!" Ruby blurted out. "I shouldn"t have let him pick first. He must have figured out my plan."
This was incorrect, for Owen only figured out Ethan"s cheating plan.
"Why do you suddenly talk about him so much? Since when were you open about your feelings?" Simon asked hoping to learn something from her.
"It"s been a while… I thought… that after we graduated, I don"t know if we"ll see each other. He"s helped me so much in my life. More than he"ll know. I don"t want to go my life regretting that I never told him."
Simon listened to a similar story to his own and wondered where he should take his life.
"What do you think about me?" Simon said.
"Ew gross…" Ruby replied cold-heartedly, spitting on the floor. "You aren"t my type."
"Not like that…" He said. "As in my situation."
Ruby thought for a while whilst forgetting about the horrors of the forest they were in.
"I always thought you seemed happier around Claire," Ruby said.
"C-claire?" Simon said as his face fell. "That won"t happen."
Simon and Ruby both continued along with thoughts of their lives in their minds. Simon"s lonely smile guided him whilst Ruby planned another way to cheat in whatever the next event was.
[Pair 4 - Sean and Lily]
Compared to the other groups. Sean and Lily were scared. They were the only couple and they acted like one for the first time. They walked closely together, hand in hand protecting each other. They were both on high alert and didn"t talk to each other. They were too focused on all the shapeshifting trees around them, causing them to tighten their grip on each other. It"s safe to say that they become a little closer than what they were before.
They also seemed to be the only group to go through without worrying about another conversation that distracted them from the event.
[Pair 5 - Kaylee & Claire]
"So?" Claire said jumping straight into things. "How is it going?"
"alright…" Kaylee responded more scared of where the conversation was going other than the forest.
"Good… good…" Claire said leaving some silence for comedic effect. "So anyway, let"s talk Simon and Ethan!"
"Here it is…" Kaylee said as she sank to the ground. "Whatever… just ask away."
"I just wanted to know how you feel about them."
Kaylee had heard this a lot recently. It was understandable as her situation was the most drama the group got. If people didn"t care about it she"d be more worried.
"I don"t know…" She said.
"Alright… let me try to ask something else. "Claire responded going for a route that would give her the answer she wanted. "I"ll ask you some questions and just think about them, okay?"
Kaylee nodded her head, even if she didn"t want to agree she was stuck in a forest with her and had to kill time. Looking around there was no clear exit and turning from the planned route will only get her lost.
"You are at school presenting. Who are you presenting with, Ethan or Simon."
As Kaylee was about to answer Claire shut her up. "Don"t answer. Just think about it."
"Ok… next one…" Claire said continuing.
"If you were crying… who do you want to make you laugh? If you were stuck on a desert island, who would you want to be with? If you were to spend the week living with them, who would you pick? If you were to spend your final moments with them, who would you pick?"
Kaylee listened to each one of Claire"s pointless and endless bombardment of questions. She listened to each one as if it was as serious as the last. Even if she didn"t understand the point of it all, she"d be lying to say there wasn"t one person that appeared in her head.
"What about you?" Kaylee asked. "Who would you pick?"
Kaylee switched to offensive to try and throw a curveball at Claire, hoping that she would at least stutter.
"That"s obvious." She said. "I"d pick Simon."
"W-why?" Kaylee said.
"It"s always been Simon. It was a miracle that I met him again after all these years. I was wondering if I"d ever get the chance to tell him how I really felt. I"ve always felt that way about him."
Kaylee looked away with fear that she would upset Claire.
"I-i"m sorry…" She said.
"Don"t apologise," Claire said facing Kaylee in the eyes. "All is good between us. If Simon had chosen you then I would have given up, but seeing as he is single, I have a chance. Plus, even I"ve done questionable things to you."
"Like what?" Kaylee responded unsure of what she was referring to.
"Don"t worry about it. Nothing important."
"Well, now that they both don"t want me…" Kaylee said causing Claire to stop and hold Kaylee in her arms.
"Don"t be like that." She said. "Love is complicated and you should know that. We are coming to the end of our secondary school lives... Do what makes you happy… If you think it"s with Ethan then go for it, and if you think it"s with Simon, then I guess that makes us rivals!"
Kaylee attempted to look at Claire but quickly retreated into her coat, hiding her tears.
By the time they returned, her eyes had dried up.
"That wasn"t so bad…" Owen said.
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"You were behind me the whole time!" Matt interrupted exposing Owen.
"It wasn"t the worst…" Ruby said standing closer to Owen than usual.
"It was good for me," Sean said only to get looks from all the people who are failing in love.
"I-it was fun…" Kaylee said as she let out a slight smile towards Ethan who didn"t know what to do but returned it back.
After they all returned, Ethan, Matt and Simon dropped everyone off to their houses. Being the only ones that drive it made sense it was them. They may have not been scared at the time but that night a few of them had nightmares, some about the conversations and others about the forest. We may never know who was scared of what.