Leah watched Rhys curiously as he stumbled back to the fire, his eyes drooping. He was an intriguing person, that was for sure. But he seemed hesitant around her, as if he thought she would hurt him. From what she had learned about him he had a scarred past, so she couldn’t blame him for that. A sudden weight dropped in her stomach and she winced slightly as the unrealistic thoughts filled her head again. Her family probably were celebrating her not coming back, and she knew Kat hated her, so Rhys must also. How could he lie to her like that! He probably wished she would run away and never come back, he probably thought she was ugly and stupid and rude and he wished she would dissapear. She took a deep breath, none of that was real, or course not. But it was! Of course it was! She sighed and wished it all away, clearing her mind of all thoughts. She thought of trees, windows, and princesses. Soon her breathing was steady, and she laid down on the log, it was too cold but she didn’t mind. She closed her eyes and prayed she could fall asleep as quickly as possible.

The next morning Leah restarted the fire, she had just gotten back from a long walk in the woods. She couldn’t sleep all night, something unusual for her. Rhys sat up as the wood caught flame and he smiled at her, she squinted back in what she hoped looked like a grin. His face faltered and he looked at her concerned. She wished he would stop doing that, it made him look like he actually cared about what happened to her. And she wasn’t used to it. She averted her gaze from his gray eyes, then changed her mind and returned it, causing him to flinch back in surprise. She kept staring at him until he turned away to Kat to wake her up. She needed to show him she wasn’t intimidated by him, that she didn’t care if he hated her. Even though she did. She was stronger then he ever could be. She felt something on her hand and gasped when she saw a snail crawling up her arm. She watched it with question, it was special. Out of everything the snail could have chosen to crawl on it chose her. And that was for reasons she could never understand. She scooped it up and placed it on the ground, letting it crawl away.

“Leah.”

“Leah!”

“LEAH!!!”

Leah’s head shot up to see Kat glowering over her. “Yes?” She asked, scared that Kat would do something irrational. “You really need to pay attention to me more.” Kat said,

“Why would I do that?”

“I’m the rabbit who’s letting you tag along with us. I’m the reason you’re still here with us.”

That hurt Leah, and she felt her eyes cloud up, but she said kindly,

“And I’m the reason you’re alive.”

“It's not like what you did was cool or anything.”

“And it's not like you are more superior than me.”

Kat was silent. Then she rolled her eyes which were teary, “Get up. We’re going.”

Leah said nothing and stood up, following Kat and Rhys.

“Where are we going?” she asked, feeling crushed when Kat was not the one to respond. She hated being hated. But she smiled sweetly when Rhys said, “I don’t know. Just until we find somewhere we can stay.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Yah, it does.” Rhys said, slowing his walk so they were side by side. He smirked at her as she tripped slightly and she grimaced, looking away embarrassed. “Welp,” He said, punching her arm playfully, “here goes nothing.”