<blockquote><div><cite>Dream Of Purity wrote:</cite>Juliet smiled warmly, staring at the clothes she scrubbed in the river, listening to Jaden thank her. She sighed, and moved to grab his hand, as he reached into the basket, and began scrubbing a bra furiously in the river, only to shriek, and throw it at her when he realized what it was. With a sudden jerk, Juliet pulled the bra from where it lay, slung over one of her shoulders, she gingerly dropped it into the clean clothes holding it with two fingers, as if it make strike at her unprovoked. "And thank you for that." She wiped her hands on her legs, and looked up at the male.<br/><br/>"It's ok, we're practically family now. We stick together, no matter what." Her bright green eyes peered at him, her soft, porcelain skin glowing in the filtered light. "It would have been a shame to lose you, we don't have many males left as is, and what with heat coming up, the girls are getting a bit restless... I know I am..." She added with a laugh, then suddenly blushed, "I mean, not for you... or because of you." She looked back to the clothes she scrubbed. "Not that you aren't attractive, it's just that its... it's me.... not you?" She furrowed her brow, her social grace had fled very gracefully, so gracefully in fact that she hadn't notice it leave until that very moment, in which she felt as though she stood ten feet behind herself, face in the palm of her hand, shaking it in disgust.<br/><br/>She took a deep breath, and set the pants she scrubbed in the clean clothes hamper, "I mean to say that a lot of girls are looking for mates, and you're... well, you're not ... not repulsive..." She stated under her breath, "so just know that some girls may... may be somewhat forward about these things... but I'm not one of those girls... it's not because of you, at all, you're actually really nice, just that me... I'm... not... good... at..." She paused, then chuckled, turning into a full laugh, "Not good at a lot of things apparently, my god, look at me, like a school girl." She laughed, and looked back at him, "Just be warned, ok... expect lots of advances... Especially once I do something about that hair." She laughed again. It felt good to laugh, and she knew the pack needed to feel that lightness too.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>His own embarrassment suddenly changed for him being embarrassed for her, until she laughed and her sentences became more coherent. He pulled out someones shirt and began scrubbing it in the current staying silent until he lifted it and wrung it out. With a sigh he sat back on a rock and tossed a small stone into the water.<br/><br/>"Advances?" he muttered, "I'm sure the pack would need more males and as a new member I would want to, um, contribute. But after what happened, I'm not sure I'm ready for another relationship just yet. And I'm not the type of guy to just sleep around with any girl I can get with, if any even wanted to. " With that, he continued to help her with the laundry till they were done, keeping silent as his mind raced with errant thoughts.<br/><br/>After lugging the clothes back to the cave, he left Juliet to folding them as he was never good at it to begin with, then he slipped out of the cave. Trying not to attract anyone's attention, he circled around to the side of the hill and began to climb, still astounded at the ease he had scaling the small summit. Atop the hill was flat stone where he laid down to stare up at the sky.<br/><br/>He just forgave himself for killing his girlfriend and now the thought of moving on scared him. He wasn't ready by a long shot, yet this 'heat' was coming fast and he was almost positive he wouldn't feel any differently when it did. He didn't even know what he would feel and how the heat would affect him. Sighing, his hands went to his thighs and he felt his wallet, and something else in his other pocket. Reaching inside, he retrieved his cell phone and flipped it open. The darkened screen greeted him and he wasn't surprised. He was missing for over three months. No way the battery would have lasted this long. Closing the phone, he turned  it in his hand and noticed the batter cover was bulging on the back, as if something had struck it and dislodged the cover. Pulling it off, he found the battery had fallen out.<br/><br/>Digging in his pocket again, he found the battery and clicked it in, replacing the cover and eagerly flipped it open. Excitement shot through him as it lit up and his background greeted him, a picture of him and Jessica, which made his heart sink, along with the red X in the corner. He opened his photo album and started flipping through the pictures, images of him and his friends, Jessica, and a few of his Mother. She must be devastated by now. Had she given up on him yet? He wanted to let her know he was safe, but it would probably be a bad idea now that he wasn't really Human anymore, and because he had killed his Girlfriend. Still, what would he say? How would he tell her what happened?<br/><br/>Opening his contacts, he highlighted his mothers cell number and started writing a text message. He knew with no signal she would never receive it, but it would make him feel better to write it. A kind of closure to his former life and he could focus on his new life.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"I am safe. Please stop looking for me. I am in a place I can't return from, but please know I love you and I'm sorry I had to leave. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, especially Jessica. I'm sure she would have forgave me, as you should. I'm no longer the same as I was before. I've changed, but I have people here that care for me and will help me adjust. Know that I will be happy here as I do not belong with Humans anymore. Goodbye."</span><br/><br/>Jaden finished typing and took a breath after wiping away moistened cheeks. His thumb hovered over the send button, then he pressed it, knowing it wouldn't work. He snapped the phone closed once more, but didn't see the red X vanish for a brief moment, being replaced by a single bar. The message icon beside the sent message displayed a green check mark, going unnoticed to Jaden as he stuffed the phone back into his jeans and he began his decent back down to the cave.