"And over there is the big dipper. It always points to the North star, so if you're ever lost and need to know which way is north, just find the big dipper." I say, pointing up at the sky as he follows my finger, squinting his eyes so he can see.
"I still don't get how you remember shit like this."
"Language! There's a dog." I say, hitting Gally's arm lightly.
"He doesn't even understand what I'm saying."
"Sure about that?" I ask, tilting my head. I look over at Bark, who's laying right next to me, fast asleep. "Bark." I say in a singsong voice. The dog's head immediately snaps up to meet my eyes.
Gally scoffs, shaking his head.
"That was purely a coincidence."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Galpal."
"Do you remember any other constellations?" He asks, laying back down so he's facing the sky.
"Oh yeah, tons." I lay back down as well, patting Bark's head as he closes his eyes. "I can't show them all to you. It'd take all night."
"I have time." He replies with a wide grin, looking over at me. "All night if you want."
"That's what she said."
"Really?!" Gally shouts, shooting back up to a sitting position.
"I'm sorry! Blame the weather!" I say loudly, sitting back up after him.
"What the hell does the weather have to do with your dirty mind?!"
"Just shut up and look at the stars." I say, laying down once more. Gally sighs, but after a few seconds lays down.
"Show me some more constellations."
🪐🪐🪐
"I'm starving." I say after I show him a couple more constellations.
"Guess you shouldn't have fed your burger to the dog." Gally replies, sitting up and leaning his back against a tree.
"That has nothing to do with my hunger." I snap.
"It has everything to do with your hunger." He says, his eyes following me as I sit up.
"It was like, two bites! Bark needs extra food!"
"The dog can eat the gross food like peanuts or pretzels."
"First of all, that's not good for dogs. Second of all, what?! You don't like peanuts and pretzels?!"
"Nope." He replies, popping the 'p'. "They're gross."
"So you're a sweet guy? You only like sweet foods and not salty stuff?"
"Not necessarily, but for the most part, I guess. Why? Are you a salty girl?"
"No. I'm a swalty girl."
"What the hell is a swalty girl?" He asks, wrinkling his nose when he says it.
"It's a mix between sweet and salty, dumbass. I like sweet foods and salty foods. Swalty."
"That's stupid."
"It's genius." I reply with a grin.
"You sound stupid saying it."
"I sound like a genius saying it."
Gally doesn't respond, but I can see him roll his eyes in the moonlight.
"Why are you only nice to me?" I ask, looking him straight in the eyes.
"Excuse me?" He asks, snapping his head towards me.
"I mean, you seem to hate everyone else. You're always yelling at them or scolding them or ignoring them, but you're totally nice to me. Why?"
"You see, it's the yelling and ignoring everyone else that's an important step to get you here so I can be nice to you."
"So, it's all just an act?" I ask, tilting my head and furrowing my eyebrows slightly.
"What?"
"You being nice to me. Is it all just an act?"
He doesn't reply for a few seconds, causing me to play with my fingers to avoid overthinking.
"No." He replies shortly, looking back up at the sky.
"What does that mean, Wonder Boy?"
"Okay, I'm officially starving." He says, looking back at me.
"And officially evasive."
"C'mon. We can go get you some of those disgusting peanuts."
"Why won't you answer my question?"
"You want pretzels instead?"
"Answer my question. What do you mean no?"
"Look, are you coming or not?" He asks, standing up and holding out his hand.
"You're not going to, are you?"
"I'm leaving with or without you, Greenie."
I look up, meeting his eyes before taking his hand, letting him pull me up.
"So, what? Are we just gonna go raid the kitchen?"
"That was the plan." He says, a glint in his eyes.
"Are you gonna tell me why on the way?" I ask as we start walking out of the forest.
"No, so you might as well just stop wasting your time."
I groan, trudging my way through the Deadheads. Gally chuckles, walking alongside me, his hand brushing up against mine occasionally.
"So you're really not gonna tell me?" I ask as we reach the kitchen.
"Nope." He replies with a shake of his head, opening the door. "Ladies first."
"Shut up." I roll my eyes, walking through the door with Gally right behind me. He opens one of the cabinets, pulling out a small bag of pretzels.
"Here ya go." He says, holding it out for me to take.
"Thanks." I mutter, taking it and opening the bag. "You really don't like pretzels?"
"Not at all."
"When was the last time you had them?"
"That's classified information."
"So you don't remember?"
"I remember hating them." He says, grabbing a pop tart out of the pantry.
"You know that's not real food, right?"
"It's delicious."
"It tastes like shit."
"So do pretzels." He replies with a grin.
"No, pretzels taste delicious. Pop tarts taste disgusting."
"When was the last time you had one?"
"That's classified information." I mock in a deep voice. Gally chuckles before taking a bite of the pop tart. "Y'know, I thought you were mean for the longest time, but you're actually really nice to me."
"Yeah?" He asks, looking up from his food.
"Yeah. Wanna tell me why you're so nice to me?" I ask with a grin.
"Oh god, here we go again. I'm not just nice to you."
"Who else are you consistently nice to then? Who else would you steal food with late at night or stargaze with or sit in a tree with?"
Gally goes silent, looking down at the ground before saying,
"Winston."
"No you wouldn't!" I manage to say through my laughter.
"Okay, just because I do all that stuff with you doesn't mean you're special! It just means you're easier to be around then the others."
"Easier to be around?" I ask, tilting my head.
"Yeah. You're easy to talk to. But that doesn't mean you're special or anything."
"Okay, Galpal. I'm not special." I reply, putting my hands in the air in surrender with a grin.