The sound of voices awoke me the next day.

I could tell they were hushed voices, keeping my eyes closed. I relaxed my body, mimicking my breathing pattern from when I was asleep so as not to alert them I was awake. The voices sounded hushed, but furious. I could tell one thing right off the bat, though.

They were talking about me.

"We can't keep her forever!" John hissed

"We can keep her a little longer"

"Why? So that our chances of getting caught increase?" John asked. I could imagine steam shooting from his ears "I was almost found getting this shit for you!"

Something hit the ground followed by clanging. I frowned slightly, wondering what it was.

"I told you I could've gotten it" Clayton muttered

"You were too busy hugging your little leech" John growled.

"Was not! I can't control my actions when I'm asleep!"

John snorted "Yeah right"

"Well we're not just leaving her here"

"Why not? Its just like her world"

"She lived in a little bit more advanced time than the woods!"

"Well duh, there were animals when she lived here"

Clayton groaned, keeping it quiet "We're going to take her as far as we can over to the Girl's Side. If the time comes when we have to leave her, we will. But only in a desperate emergency"

"If your stupidity keeps me from living the rest of my life, I'll personally melt every limb off starting with the fingers"

In my mind, I imagined Clayton rolling his eyes. "It won't. Calm down, John. We've been friends since we were 4."

John snorted "Whatever man. People change. Apparently you have"

"Dude! Come on! Its not like I'm trying to make a kid with her!" Clayton groaned. There was a thud a few feet away from me. I assumed he had sat on the ground. "She's different, though"

"Well, of course she's different!" John snapped "She's stupider, she's technically hundreds of years old, and not to mention she's a girl"

Clayton sighed "Look man, I've had experience with some of the girls."

"I know. It ruined you for two months"

I resisted a giggle.

"No I mean, they were cold, heartless, evil Leeches" Clayton mumbled, just barely loud enough for my ears. I felt my hair being pushed back, over top my shoulder. I held back a smile, trying to keep pretending to be asleep. "Ellie...She's different. She's afraid all the time, she's quiet"

"That's just because she's on our Side" John interrupted.

"No, man, you don't get it." Clayton sighed "When she actually talks, she's full of questions or she's doing this weird thing with her face."

"What do you mean?" John asked. His voice changed suddenly. It went from bored and annoyed to curious.

"Like, it's like a blush, but..." Clayton trailed off, trying to explain it "I don't know man, I mean just her cheeks get red. And then she'll sometimes bit her lip and look at the ground. And her voice gets all quiet and she stutters alot, but its so....interesting. Man, sometimes I wish she'd stay that way forever. You really have to see it"

John didn't say anything after that. After a few moments of silence, I felt it an appropriate time to "wake up". I gave a small groan, rolling onto my back. I opened my eyes, to both John and Clayton staring at me.

I sat up, running a hand through my hair. I could feel the grease due to the fact I hadn't showered in days. Both boys continued to watch me as I re-adjusted my position so that I was more comfortable.

"Uhm...." I said quietly "Hello?"

John and Clayton exchanged a look before Clayton responded with, "Hey there"

"What's going on?" I asked, pretending to be confused. I couldn't tell them I had been listening to their entire conversation about me. Or that I knew Clayton liked it when I was embarrassed.

"John got the stuff so we're going to try to head out to Doc's by the end of today" Clayton explained. He pointed to a leather bag bulging on the ground. I nodded.

"Clayton, could I speak to you alone?" John asked rudely. I looked down at my hands as Clayton scurried up, following after John. They disappeared for a few minutes. I stood up walking around our campsite.

They must've gone far, for I couldn't hear any sounds coming from their direction. I sighed, sitting back down next to the bag Clayton had spoken about before. I assumed the boys were going to continue their conversation about me behind my back.

A scampering sounded a few feet away. I looked up curiously, having not heard a different sound in a while. The scampering didn't sound human--not even close.

The sound came again, this time louder. Out of instinct, I patted the ground next to me. A whimpering followed and after a few seconds a little body came into view.

I gasped.

His head looked up at me as he walked slowly over to me. I reached my hand out, letting him sniff me. Recognization spread across his face as he leaped on top of me, pushing me back. His claws dug into my skin, but I ignored the pain they gave me.

"Luke!" I laughed quietly, giving him a hug. The puppy licked at my face, the happiness mutual.

I pushed him off enough to sit up, petting him furiously. I kissed the top of his head, so happy to see him once again. Luke's tail was going wild as he continued to lick me. I grinned, unable to hold back my laughter.

"Ellie?" I heard a deep voice say from behind me. I stopped suddenly, turning around to see both boys standing behind me. My throat grew dry. I couldn't speak. Luke stopped licking me, his tail ceasing its wagging.

"What the hell is that doing here?" John growled

I opened my mouth to respond, but fear seeped in. I couldn't make a sound. What would happen now? It hadn't occured to me that John and Clayton were only a few feet away. What would they do to me? What would happen to Luke? We couldn't leave him out here--there was nothing to hunt for. He would die within days.

I couldn't let Luke die. I'd already abandoned him once, I didn't plan on doing that again.

"Where did you find him?" Clayton whispered

I couldn't answer, just stared up at them, mouth half open.

Clayton bent down, reached a hand out to Luke. Luke sniffed his hand before backing away with a small whimper. Clayton frowned, pulling his hand back to sniff it.

John knelt down, reaching out to pet Luke. Luke sniffed John's arm as he stroked Luke's body. Luke licked John's arm.

John pulled back "What the hell!"

I stared wide-eyed, looking back and forth between John and Luke. Luke couldn't actually like John, could he? Not when he didn't like Clayton.

"Dude, do you know what that is?" Clayton whispered, getting John's attention.

"What"

"That's from the Girl's Side. Its one of their 'pets'" Clayton said, his voice growing excited.

John made a face, furiously trying to wipe off Luke's germs "Oh shit, man, it licked me!"

I dared a noise, "That means he likes you"

John looked at me, face furious "What did you say?"

"If a dog licks you, it means he likes you" I said a little louder.

John made a face again, still rubbing his arm "Whatever. That's just gross"

I sighed, rubbing Luke's back. His tail started to move again as he licked my hand.

"Why didn't he lick me?" Clayton frowned, crossing his arms

I shrugged "I guess he doesn't like you?"

Clayton glared at the dog. "Let's go."

"Can we bring Luke?" I asked before I realized what I said. I clamped a hand over my mouth, a blush creeping onto my cheeks. Oh no, I shouldn't have said that. John gave me a hard look, which mimicked Clayton's. After a moment, though, Clayton's softened.

"Fine"

I grinned, pulling the puppy to me.

Clayton rolled his eyes, grabbing the leather bag and hoisting it over his shoulder. I stood up carefully, trying to get Luke off me. John led the way as we treked through the woods, Luke running up after him.

Clayton walked next to me, not speaking.

He wasn't mad that Luke didn't like him...was he?