HONEYBEE| Sam Uley

nine

After an incredibly uncomfortable goodbye, Sam and Estella left together to make the trek back up the hill, there was no use walking separately seeing as though they were heading in the exact same direction and currently the sky above was dark and speckled with stars. The female of the two shivered as her boots clicked against the tarmac of the road, legs straining only slightly as the ground below met an incline; she stuffed her hands tightly into her pockets and curled deeper into her coat as they walked.

"I am sorry, that we ruined your night," he finally said after a long moment and she looked across at him, vaguely appalled that he would even presume such a thing. Again, his upper body was only covered in a t-shirt but he didn't seem to be cold which shocked her- though it seemed an inappropriate time to point it out.

"You didn't ruin my night, Sam." she returned and he felt shivers of pleasure trail through him at the sound of his name on her tongue- it sounded so pleasant there. "And it was as much anybody else's night as it was mine."

"It was your first family dinner back." he declined, eyes following hers to where she was watching her small feet as they marched across the earth, it would be a long walk back at her pace but he couldn't bring himself to mind.

"You were all there, you all ate. That makes it your dinner too." Estella smiled gently as she walked. She wanted to ask him what had happened in their argument, to know if Leah had finally come to her senses and realised how much of a perfectly adorable idea it all was- but she equally did not want to pester him, so she went for an alternative approach. "I think it's a great idea. The house at the top of the hill is beautiful and massive." she laughed.

"I used to play in there with the boys, it was like our little hide-out, not necessarily a safe one but..." he shrugged and she smiled. "Maybe I'm just being selfish but, It's always seemed so perfect, it's right there and it's just... I look at it, and I can see my dream home. I don't need to go anywhere because this place... It's home," he shrugged and she smiled, nodding.

"I understand. That's how I felt when I went off to college, it took me only two months to realise that this is home," she gestured around them at the darkness of the reservation at night, the wind biting her hands as she gestured around them. "I never really wanted to be anywhere else, not like here. I was looking for the perfect life but I already had it," she breathed. "Things are different now, of course." she frowned and scratched her eyebrow in consideration as they continued on, maybe they were walking so slow so as to continue their conversation for longer- either way, neither of them minded.

"How are you doing?... If you don't mind me asking" he frowned, asking gently as though he might offend her but Estella smiled warmly at him, her eyes glittering with unspoken sadness.

"I don't mind" she assured in a whisper and was glad when he heard her over the gently whistling wind. "I feel... I don't really know. I want to say better because I don't cry so much now, I don't get so agonised about such minor things. Before, all I could think about was their absence... But, I'm still not great, if you know what I mean? I don't feel better, I just feel different."

"I understand, I hope you are okay, Estella," Sam smiled tightly and he really wished he could explain just how much he understood, he looked at her and he could feel that she was in pain- and it made him feel agony, it made him feel useless. But he couldn't tell her yet, it wasn't time for either of them... They were practical strangers despite the limited time they had spent together.

"Are you tired?" she asked suddenly, snapping her gaze away from the moon to look at him and he frowned, quirking a brow in confusion.

"No?"

"How do you feel about a bit of a longer walk?... I promise I'll walk faster," she laughed gently as their houses appeared before them. Joseph Uley and Michael Clearwater had been such good friends that they had brought the two houses that were closest to one another in the entire reservation.

"What were you thinking?"

"We could go and look at the house?... If you'd like, I just--" she sighed, weirdly feeling as though she could tell him what she felt, maybe it was because he was the first practical stranger she had spent time with. Everyone else knew her, they expected her to feel and be a certain way but he didn't know her yet- or so she thought. She felt painfully comfortable and she knew she shouldn't... But she just couldn't help it, they were two friends out in the night and even though they hadn't said much, she was deeply enjoying the company. "I don't really want to be alone."

His frown smoothed into a small smile the second she said that his features oddly pained and he nodded, swallowing. He never wanted Estella Clearwater to feel alone.

"Sure, I could do with some fresh eyes to give me some ideas," he chuckled and she grinned. He made everything seem so simple though if only she knew that inside his head, he was a mess. Estella and Sam both knew that they shouldn't be spending time together, that they were something different. They didn't feel like friends and that was dangerous, especially given the female they were both close to... But it wasn't them making these decisions... It was destiny and who were they to deny their own destiny?