WILD YOUTH

chapter three.

when she was done changing she pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and put her hood on.

"small problem," she spoke.

"hmm?"

"where are we supposed to put the mini fridge without the counselors seeing?" gil smirked devilishly.

"i thought you'd never ask!" he walked over to the closet and crawled inside. piper poked her head slightly in. "see, theres this weird box shaped hole in the wall. i don't know why its there, and i don't want to, but last year i thought to myself 'hey, this is the perfect size for that mini fridge i saw'. so i stole the mini fridge and put it in there. theres also a plug, like, right there so thats pretty convenient."

"what do you do at the end of the summer?"

"i hide it somewhere inside the dining hall. it makes them feel stupid." they both laughed, and turned off the light in their cabin. as they walked out of the door gil explained the plan. "all of the counselors should be in their cabins by now. last time i checked the stupid clock on the wall it was eleven." he stopped suddenly and pulled piper behind a cabin.

"what the fu-" she started, but he covered her mouth and pressed a finger to his lips. she heard voices approach, then they slowly faded away. he took his hand off of her mouth, laughing. "was that actually necessary?"

"no, but it made it more fun, didn't it?" piper rolled her eyes and started back towards the dining hall. "will you say necessary again?"

"thats the third time you've asked me to repeat a word and we've just met today."

"i like the way you say shit, doroha. its fucking amazing."

"do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" piper joked, and gil placed his hand on his heart.

"you hurt me! i gave you a compliment just now and thats how you repay me?"

"yup," she smiled, popping the 'p'.

"ouch, pipe."

"pipe?" she asked as they approached the dining hall.

"it's your nickname," gil answered, and pulled the door open before gesturing for her to walk in the door. "i don't see why they don't lock this door."

"what happened to 'doroha'?"

"you like when i call you doroha?" he teased, leading her to the back room.

"i like the way you say it. you roll the 'r'," piper explained, shrugging.

"see, now you can't get angry at me for asking you to say words again. you like the way i say 'doroha' and i like the way you speak in general. now we're even."

"i wouldn't call that even, but you make up for it by having food and cigarettes." gil smiled cheekily, and stopped at a door. he pushed it open, and flicked the light on.

it was as gil described, a hang out place. there was a pool table, a soda machine, some couches, and pushed into the far corner was the mini fridge.

"there she is. isn't she beautiful?"

"it's a fridge, gil. but sure, beautiful."

"you're such a debby downer," gil crabbed, and piper rolled her eyes and smiled.

"well, yeah. why else would i be here?"

"maybe you're secretly a psychopath but your mom and dad call you 'troubled' so you don't have to go to jail," gil monotoned, and piper laughed.

"you got me," piper joked, and he smiled and lifted the fridge up. they walked out of the room, turning off the light and closing the door before they left, then walked down the long hallway. they were almost to the end when the doors to the dining hall opened, and voices filled the building.

"i'm pretty sure i set my guitar down somewhere around here," they heard alexis say.

a guys voice answered. "maybe you took it to the breakroom?"

"yeah, i'll check." they heard two sets of footsteps coming closer, and piper put her hand over gils mouth and smiled, scrunching her nose up. he rolled his eyes and licked her hand, causing her to cringe and pull away.

the door down the hall opened, and gil peeked his head out of the doorway. he watched both of the counselors go into the room, and took that as a chance to run. piper followed quickly. she caught up easily, given he was carrying a mini fridge, and pushed the door open for him. he exited, and piper followed.

they ran the rest of the way back to their cabin, laughing quietly and shoving each other. piper attempted to push gil down a few times, but he simply nudged her with his shoulder and it kept her away. they arrived back at their cabin out of breath, but happier than they had been in a long time.

"shall we put our mini fridge in its new home?" gil asked in a fake british accent.

"we shall," piper giggled, and together they pushed the fridge into the closet and plugged it in. they put the sodas into the fridge, then laid down in their separate beds, barely mumbling a goodnight to each other before they drifted to sleep.

PIPER WAS SCREAMING IN HER sleep less than two hours later. it had woken gil with a start, but he got up and shook her awake.

"pipe! doroha! wake up!" she sat up, gasping for breath, and latching her fingers onto his sweatshirt.

"i'm sorry," she rasped. "i guess i should have warned you i have night terrors."

"it would have been a nice heads up, but its all good." she loosened her grip on his shirt and he started to walk away but she stopped him.

"wait! could you, could you lay with me until i fall asleep?" she asked, and gil smiled softly before climbing into bed with her.

"damn, i wish i chose your bed. 's comfy."

"shut the fuck up and sleep," piper commanded, and laid her head on his chest, he tensed slightly, but didn't pull away. soon, he relaxed.

"goodnight, doroha."

"night, gil."

•••