adventure into love. [holes fanfic]

3 - Shades of Red

A/N - your comments inspire me and I'd love to know what you like/dislike! Feel free to comment on any chapter you'd like, I'll always read them!

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After taking a few small bites of my food, I'd decided it would be better to skip eating for tonight, despite the warnings from others.
I probably have some leftover food in my bag, anyways, I thought.

I followed the boys back to camp, careful not to stray too far away from D-Tent. I'd noticed the stares - the ones from the other boys, burning their eyes into my body, making me feel more uncomfortable than I'd ever been before. Because of this, I figured it would be best to avoid them, and thus avoiding any possible situations.

Magnet put a hand on my shoulder as I was lost in my thoughts. "It's 'counselling' time, Chica. Dr. Pendanski hosts it one night per week. He basically tries to pry answers out of us." He explained, directing me toward the mess hall. It was completely barren, void of any campers except for D-Tent.

The boys and I all sat down in a circle of chairs, and began discussing a variety of topics.
Dr. Pendanski started.
"So, Isla. What did you do to get sent here?" He questioned.
"What does it matter to you?" I replied.
"We've all shared our stories, it's how we learn and grow."
"Well, I did what I had to do. I don't regret anything." I looked at the ground, thoughts and images of my sick father shrouding my brain and making it difficult to breathe.

From this sparked a lot of conversation. The boys began saying things like, "Sounds like she murdered someone." "Hey, Magnet! She feels justified in her crime too. Guess y'all have something in common?"

The only person who didn't say anything was Zigzag. He just looked straight into my eyes. With his electric, crystal blue eyes. It was like a never-ending ocean - with the tempestuous sea breeze skipping across the blue lagoon.

My heart skipped a beat.

Zigzag looked away, to the other boys. He joined into the conversation, laughing along with the others while I shook out of my trance.

Squid spoke up, louder than the rest. "Even if you did murder someone, I'd bet that was a pretty last sight for the guy."

I laughed. "I didn't kill anyone, guys. I did something I had to do, and unfortunately, that thing was against the law. I'm here now, and that's all that matters."

I saw some nods of understanding and we switched the conversation topic. After that, the 'counselling session' was filled with the echoes of laughter and bickering and yelling and, well, boys.

"Hey, yo, guys? We should get back to the tent. The Warden's not gonna like that we're keeping the rest of the camp awake." X-Ray stated. I looked around to see Dr. Pendanski eagerly taking his hat off as he walked back to his cabin. Absentmindedly, I followed the boys back to D-Tent.

It took me five minutes to think long and hard about how I'm going to change my clothes for bed - something I hadn't considered since getting to camp. I coughed as I took my comfortable clothes out of my bag.

"Do you guys mind turning around?" I said. "I do mind." Squid said, winking. Armpit hit him on the back of the head. "Show the lady some respect!" He exclaimed.

Eventually they all averted their eyes and I was able to change into a comfortable t-shirt and some black shorts. Before going to sleep, I decided it would be best to fill my canteen. I'd always gotten a dry throat in the middle of the night, anyways.

While filling my canteen, I turned the water off because I heard the crunching of desert stones and sand behind me. Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I glanced to the side, and the fingers were gentle and soft, yet calloused and firm. My gaze followed the figure until our eyes met.
Oh.

It was Zigzag.

He turned the water on again and began to fill his canteen.

"Isla, darlin', you didn't even fill your canteen all the way." He said with a kind smile, taking mine out of my grasp and lining it up beside his.

"I only stopped because you scared me. Could I get a warning next time?" I laughed.

Zigzag breathed softly. "You're going to want to get some sleep for tomorrow. You have no idea how hard the first hole's gonna be for you."

Mr. Sir had explained to me about digging holes; he said it had to be five foot deep and five foot in diameter.
"Surely it couldn't be that difficult, could it?"

He placed his hand in the small of my back and snaked his arm around my waist. To this, I was surprised and jumped a bit.

"It's difficult. It's hot, humid, and the sun beats down on you harder than any physical beatin could dream of."

He saw me blushing and wide-eyed and removed his hand.

Zigzag stared awkwardly at the faucet, his unruly blonde hair covering his face. "Oh.. I'm sorry, darlin'."

"It's been a while since we had a girl round here. Guess I got too ahead of myself." He confessed. I shook my head 'no' and he smiled.

After my faucet had been filled completely, we headed back to the tent. The boys were ruthless.

"Damn, what were you guys doing alone?! At night?!" Armpit spoke with a teasing edge to his words. "Yeah, I bet they were gettin it—" Squid's sentence was interrupted by my pillow. I threw it at his face, laughing.

"Nothing happened! I filled up my canteen. Is that so worthy of oohs and aahs?"

The tent burst into laughter, everyone separating and getting back to their own cots. Squid leaned down to my ear before splitting up.

"By the shade of red on that pretty lil' face of yours, I'd say you wished something happened."