Alex watched Jess, she was obviously undergoing shock.

She was laying a top her stone bed and gripped the shoddy pelt unto herself.

He kept some distance, he wasn't sure how she would react to physical contact.

When she begun muttering to herself, he really became worried.

She would let out a shrill while gritting her teeth, and rock herself back and forth.

"Jess!.....Jess!" Alex kept trying to get her attention.

She was covering her ears, he sighed it was obvious she couldn't hear him.

He sat there beside her, he decided to stop waiting.

He poured healing energy into her body, hoping anything she had suffered he could heal.

Alex sighed again, this was why he didn't want her to suffer pain.

Jessica was obviously a pampered girl, it was not an if, it was so.

Eian and Sarah were very strong people, Alex knew that.

They had a strong flaw however.

They didn't seem to understand not everyone could be so strong, real life people like to show themselves as strong and independent, even in the face of terror.

The average person has their own strengths, for most part though fighting and being hurt wasn't one of them.

Sarah especially demanded things from people that she didn't realize were beyond reason.

Alex himself was willing to suffer for the group, but he didn't expect others to do the same for him.

Sacrifice must be given of ones self, not demanded, nor conscripted.

If it was, how were they different from a dictator, it was a repeat of slavery and oppression.

Many people believe they are right and refuse to put put themselves in the other person's shoes believing themselves 'above' or 'better' than everyone else.

Loyalty, fealty, trust, familial bonds, friendship, even government affiliations or any type of belief should be earned and given freely.

Those whom believe in demanding things from people should wake up and get over themselves.

Alex remembered times when he could have been like Jessica, trying their very best to meet demands of others.

He wasn't too rich nor too poor, but there were always those, the unreasonable demands.

Expectations, therapy, meeting certain people, extra study sessions, certain behavioral preferences, excellence in school he couldn't ever fully meet them all, no matter how hard he tried.

Over time he grew to resent them, all of them.

'They aren't there yet, but I should set my foot down and talk to them.' Alex bit his lip and nodded to himself, they had to set rules, he had to set rules.

Jessica wasn't rousing from her stupor.

Alex began to feel anxious, he hoped she wouldn't be out of it too long.

Some people took weeks, sometimes even months, to recover from trauma.

Depending on how bad it was she could be unfit for even being moved about.

Sighing in defeat, Alex stopped calling for her attention.

He went over and gathered some water in a small stone bucket Eian had made earlier.

He placed it next to her and went to get some wolf jerky, he thought food sometimes helped with depression.

Jerky might be different from regular stress food, but by now he didn't know what else to try.

He waited there a few minutes, finally she seemed to quiet down.

"Jess. How are you?" Alex tried to give her an encouraging smile.

".......I" She broke down into sobs again, Alex closed his eyes.

"Look. Umm..... Just ...try to relax a bit. Please. I know it's not a lot, but I'm here if you want to talk. I brought you some food and water." Alex breathed in, he was too nervous.

He had to be more confident, for her at least.

He looked about the room looking for something to do.

He got up to get the other pelt he had just recently finished.

Getting up she grabbed his hand.

"P...Please stay." Jessica's tear filled eyes looked at him, sapping all forms of denial.

"Ro...right." Alex sat down beside the bed and gave her a half-hearted smile.

Moments passed in complete silence.

She fidgeted a lot and looked everywhere, except at him.

She began playing with her hair nervously.

He ignored it, she was hurt, he needed to say something.

"Um....Jess. I...look." He looked directly at her eyes.

A brief moment pause and she was staring at his eyes, as well.

He couldn't see them with the poor light, but he imagined the vivid hue of blue in her eyes.

Licking his lips he continued.

"Jess. Umm......I'm sorry." Alex looked at the floor.

A brief moment of silence passed and he thought she might be vex.

"Why?" Her voice held a complete lack of understanding, which made him breathe a sigh of relief, she didn't blame him.

Alex took a brief moment to compose his answer.

"I shouldn't have let you fall under their pressure. I...I mean, I should have talked to you more about what you could have chosen." Alex looked at her eye's again.

He wasn't sure, but he thought the smile she gave him was reflected in her eyes, bright as sunshine.

"It's alright Lex. I chose it in the end after-all." Jessica's smile sent his gut into a butterfly fit.

Her pet name of him meant more to him than she realized, few people in his life actually felt close enough to even try.

Just remembering his parents made his happiness diminish slightly.

Everyone seemed to think he disliked people getting close, for some reason no one tried to be close friends for long.

James said they were all just pretenders anyways.

"I still should have said something.." Alex gave her a soft shy smile, then he looked away and licked his lips.

He felt her hand grab his.

"Alex. Look at me please." Jess's voice way smooth and soothing.

"Ah....Jess. Um." Alex felt tongue tied, it was a new feeling.

"Alex, um...I. ...Do....do you like me?" Jessica's eye sparkled wide, he quickly looked away.

He licked his lips, was he too obvious?

Now that he thought over it, James once said he had almost drooled over the last girl he really liked.

He had thought he had been joking at first, but he had realized later he had acted really stupid.

He had gotten into a verbal fight with James later over her, which made him realize he was acting dumb.

Hesitant, Alex thought over what he could say.

"....Is that a no?" Jessica's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"What?! No!.....I mean YES! I do. I..." Alex was dumbstuck with what to say.

A brief moment passed and Alex realized his statement was confusing.

"I... Yes I do. Like you I mean." Alex looked at the ground meekly.

"Oh." He saw Jessica sigh.

Was she unhappy?

He had though they were at least on good terms and nearing that blurry line between friends and something more.

He had always been shit at asking girls out, they usually asked him out of the blue and he agreed, if there wasn't anyone he liked or was seeing at the time.

"Alex." Jess looked hesitant, which solidified his line of thought that that he was about to be rejected.

"...Yeah." Alex half-smiled, but his heart wasn't in it.

"Umm....I'm dating someone. But wait look!" Jessica's words sunk his gut, she was going to try to put him down gently.

He tried to smile through it, it wasn't the first time he had been rejected after-all.

He was usually shit at this whole thing.

Strangely her grip on his hand tightened.

"I.....I stopped liking him a long time ago. I was gonna break up with him anyways. Please! I really like you too." Jessica went quiet and looked at his eyes and he felt her sincerity.

Alex let that pass through his head.

This whole time she hadn't acted like someone with a significant other.

Was she telling the truth or did she want to use him?

One girl did that one time, her boyfriend had appeared later and things had ended in a fight, if not for James he would have punched the guy some more.

James had opened his eyes to the her ways, she had just been in it for the thrill of cheating.

In the end, he let himself breathe.

"Jess. Um.....You said you live in Miami, Florida right? Thats far. I live in Phoenix, Arizona." Alex felt his emotions in flux.

"Wait is that a problem?! Alex look, I can move! My parents, they don't care! They move all the time!" Jessica's eye's looked frantic, that made him change his mind.

"NO! No! No. It's not a problem. I just meant we'd have to work on it a little harder. I'd like if this works out too." Alex breathed in and smiled happy.

"Really?" Jessica looked at him with questioning eyes.

"For sure." Alex nodded vigorously.

Jessica sighed dramatically, and inside a dark part of him made him wonder if he had just been played again.

He banished it away immediately, he couldn't rely on bad experiences to guide him forever after all.

Suddenly she hugged him and that led him to feel completely anxious.

They spent a long time like that.

"Um.....Alex. I want to take a bath." Jessica smiled at him and he could see her blush through the darkness.

He felt his heart beat speed-up.

She gave him a quick peck on the mouth.

"Can you....Watch me, to make sure nothing sneaks up on me." Her smile was definitely an invitation and he gave a stunned nod.

Before he knew it they were near the running water, she was naked and they both quickly rinsed themselves.

His desire had mounted, Eian and Sarah were in the daze they usually underwent while selecting spirit, they had quickly checked just to be sure.

Suddenly he was passionately kissing those sweet tender lips, their breathe was hot and passionate.

He briefly suckled on the perky nipples of her breasts, the tip of his tongue trailed upwards on her neck, before his teeth bit her lower lip again lightly.

He held her against the wall, he lifted one leg up with one arm, the other held her tight.

Ecstasy suffused him as he slid inside, he felt Jess's back arc as she moaned, it just made him harder.