Day 3 was mostly spent in the countryside than in the base, because Goldilocks and Jack wanted some peace and quiet, and Conner and Bree decided to tag along.

Mother Goose was in charge of doing some business around the area, while the others (except for the fairies) remained in the base.

The five currently sat on the ground in a farm. Grown wheat swayed in the wind, almost ready to be harvested.

Goldilocks took a deep breath. "Fresh air! I feel like myself again!"

"The world is currently asleep except for us, right?" Bree asked.

"Yeah." Conner replied. Mother Goose had went away, and trusted Goldilocks and Jack to keep an eye on the two teens.

"So, the world is ours. We can do whatever we want." Bree grinned, her hair flying in the wind. "Freedom tastes great after you spent almost a year grounded."

"What do you want to do?" Conner asked.

"Hmm," Bree stroked her chin. "I have a bucket list. Most of them involve risky places from around the world, but I don't want to wear myself out trying them all." She snapped her fingers. "How about parkour?"

Conner paled. "We can't do that. Our physical abilities limit us."

Bree laughed. "Okay, that was a joke. But I really want to parkour at least once in my life."

"How about I make your dream a reality?" Mother Goose smirked. "I can give you gear that enhances your abilities."

"Really?" Bree asked, eyes shining.

Conner wasn't convinced. Knowing Mother Goose, she wasn't one to take precautions. "I don't trust you. Bree, don't be tricked."

It was one of those rare times when Conner was the sensible one and Bree was the excited one. When Bree had decided to come along with him back at the bathroom in the airport, Conner had decided he would take full responsibility if anything happened to Bree. He wasn't going to break that promise now.

"What the so called gear doesn't protect you?" Conner said to Bree. "What if you fall down and break your leg?"

"The healing flame can mend it," Bree answered, apparently not caring that she might get hurt.

"What if you crack your skull and there's nobody nearby to heal you?" Conner asked again.

"Okay, that's a legitimate danger." Bree smiled a bit to see Conner so concerned about her. She crossed her arms and pretended to be upset. "Fiiiine, let's just go for a walk."

"I want to go too," Goldilocks announced, standing up with her baby in her arms.

Jack gently held back Goldilocks. "Goldie, let's not."

"What?" Goldilocks asked, a little irritated. "You think I'm not capable of doing that? It's just walking."

She was about to rant about all the things she could do when Jack whispered in her ear, "Let's give those two some alone time." He looked at Conner and Bree. The two teens were confused, but left it alone.

"Ohhhhh." Goldilocks drawled. "Quite the matchmaker aren't you," she grinned and whispered to Jack.

"Well kids, I've got to go." Mother Goose got on Lester and with a squawk, they flew away. "Have a good time!" Mother Goose yelled when she turned back, and her yell echoed around the mountains.

"Don't do anything too reckless!" Goldilocks reminded the teens. "And that's coming from someone who has done a lot of risky things before, so I shouldn't be one to say."

Jack and Goldilocks sat on a bench in the shade while the teens took a water bottle each and walked to a field nearby. The fairies had put animals, insects and fish to sleep too, so the farm was very, very quiet.

"This feels like a scene in a horror movie." Conner mentioned. "When you're the only ones here and suddenly you hear a voice you don't recognize."

"It's going to way scarier when you're up in a spaceship, all alone and then you hear a knock on your spaceship door." Bree said, kicking bits of gravel on the ground.

There was silence before Conner asked hesitatingly, "Uh, do you, umm, still write?"

"Of course I do," Bree replied. "It's the only thing I can do when all your electrical appliances are taken away. If I didn't write, I think I would have gone mad."

"It's been a long time since I've written," Conner sighed. "And I miss writing. There are times when I just want to lock myself in a room with only a pencil and a sheet of paper, and write. It's a pity that it won't look good because my handwriting sucks."

"Have you ever tried typing on a computer?" Bree asked. "It looks neater, you can make edits easier and it can spellcheck your story."

"Nope. I still prefer the traditional methods of writing." Conner was reminded of something he had wanted to ask, but forgot. "Hey, what do you write about now? Still the same horror-mystery genre?"

Bree was silent for a while. "I've tried different genres," was her final answer. She definitely didn't want Conner to know she had been experimenting with the romance genre. When she was bored at home, she thought of her adventures with Conner, which somehow lead to creating two characters reminiscent of herself and her crush, and giving the two characters some romance in a post-apocalypse survival story.

Bree wasn't taking her romance story too seriously, she only wrote about it when she was tired of her usual thriller genre. Bree was embarrassed to admit that her story was basically a self-indulgent story, since she missed Conner.

Bree didn't want to say anything for a while, because a year spent away from Conner had dampened her crush considerably, but now those feelings she had attempted to lock away was returning full force.

"Race you to that stable," Bree said suddenly, pointing to a building not too far away. Maybe running would distract her from her thoughts for a while. Smirking, she set off, ponytail flying behind her.

"Hey!" After a second of delay, Conner followed after her, his feet pounding on the road. "That's no fair! You got a head start!"

Bree laughed, turning back to look at him. Her face was radiant because of her smile and the sun overhead. "That's because you didn't notice what I said."

"I did!" Conner protested, but he couldn't help but laugh. The atmosphere was so light and carefree, and it felt like their worries were miles from them (which was true, literally).

I did notice. Call me a stalker, but I notice a lot of things about you, Bree.

He sped up, catching up with Bree. He sent an arrogant smirk in her direction. "Looks like your head start is gone, blondie." he teased.

Bree winked at him, and Conner felt his whole body flame up and he lost focus momentarily. Using that to her advantage, Bree took the lead again.

Conner wrinkled his nose; Bree had charmed herself to the top again. With a determined glint in his eyes, he continued to run.

You're better than me at so many things, so maybe I'm not worthy of you. I'll win this round, just to impress you.

Bree was a fast runner, but Conner was faster, which was partially due to practice from his adventures in the Land of Stories.

Bree knew she couldn't win, so she just laughed along with Conner. At that moment, they were just two carefree people, enjoying their teenage years.

That wink actually worked. I did it on a whim. Bree felt a blush on her cheeks that didn't have anything to do with her physical exercise. I hope I don't become one of those girls who abuse boys who would do anything for them.

"I win!" Conner declared triumphantly and he slapped his hands on the stable wall. Bree arrived moments later, slamming on the wall as she too panted for breath.

"Congrats," Bree smiled, then she took a long drink from her water bottle. Conner leaned against the wall and did the same, and they stayed quiet as their heartbeats gradually returned to normal.

Conner stopped leaning against the wall, but his legs had gone a bit weak since he gave all he had when he ran. Losing his balance, he fell, but he used his hands to push himself against the wall to save himself.

Unfortunately (or fortunately? You decide), Conner hadn't been looking when his hands moved, and as a result Bree was now trapped between his hands. The girl's heart gave a jolt, as she looked at the boy above her breathlessly.

Even Bree, who usually had a response to anything, couldn't say a thing. Conner was taller than her, so he blocked out all the light and she was in his shadow.

Conner was sure if he was in a romance movie (as if), this would be the time to play a love song, which would also be the theme song of the movie.

The movie would be about a poor boy's unrequited love for an awesome girl who deserved way better than him. It was at times Conner didn't appreciate his overactive imagination.

Is this one of those Japanese wall slam things my sisters are crazy about? Bree thought, and felt her heart beat faster.

"Umm hey," Bree said. Her brown eyes darted up to his cerulean ones nervously. Conner looked down at her, and to Bree, his expression was priceless.

"Ah!" Conner leapt back as if he was burnt. "God I'm so sorry I didn't mean to do that it was an accident really just an accident I swear..." the boy rambled on and on, waving his arms.

Bree looked at him, bewildered and amused. It was unfair how he could still be cute when he messed up, unlike her. Bree was somewhat of a perfectionist so she hated it when she did something wrong.

"... I wasn't trying to do anything, it didn't mean anything..." Conner continued without pause.

"It's okay." Bree found herself saying. "It's not a big deal, Conner."

"Oh." Conner laughed awkwardly, scratching his head. "That's, umm, nice to know."

They continued the rest of their walk in silence. Conner was still freaking out inside.

What if she secretly thinks I'm a weirdo inside? Conner began to get insecure. I mean, Bree has good acting skills.

Meanwhile, Bree's oh-so-helpful brain recalled the memory of one of Bree's sisters talking about that Japanese wall slam- kabedon.

"It's the classic romantic pose!" Bree remembered her saying excitedly. "It makes every girl's heart go doki doki- that means her heart is pounding with excitement."

Bree remembered herself replying. "Stop spewing random Japanese in a terrible accent."

Bree hadn't thought of herself as a typical girl who swoons easily over boys. But true to her sister's words, her heart had been pounding in excitement.

The effect this boy has on me is bigger than I thought, Bree sighed. It wasn't a bad thing, though. Sometimes, Bree had to put on a fake mask to appeal to people around her.

Jack and Goldilocks looked at the love struck teens with a fond smile on their faces.

"Remember our times?" Goldilocks asked, and a wave of nostalgia came over her as she thought of the years when she was a teenager.

"Yeah." Jack said. "When we were friends with Red, and we didn't have that whole triangle-love-drama. I was a poor boy, you were an innocent girl, and Red wasn't obsessed with fame."

"Those were good times," Goldilocks sat back on the bench comfortably. "Let them have their fair share of teenage fun."

Conner could feel his bangs poking in his eyes. When he tried to swat them away, his hand brushed against Bree's arm.

"Ah!" they both cried and yanked their limbs again when they felt a spark of electricity between them.

"Must be static electricity." Bree muttered.

"I guess you can say the sparks fly between us." Conner said before he could actually think. When he could comprehend what he just said, he scolded himself inside, "Idiot! Why did I say that!"

"It was a bad joke, I know." The teenage boy said lamely, hoping his companion wouldn't take it too seriously.

"Haha." Bree said, trying to make Conner feel better. "By the way, are you going to go back to school, or will you stay with Alex?"

"I'm staying here. After all, I can't really pursue my dream of being an author if I stay in the Land of Stories." Conner replied.

Bree felt a breeze blow by, and she rubbed her arms. She smiled. "That's good. You'll be back."