Status: COMPLETE
The Lodge in the Forest
And that makes...what kind of sense?
After an awkward visit to Marty's room to borrow a towel, Dana flew to the bathroom to shower. Again. She hurriedly washed herself, feeling much better when she could put on some clean clothes and join the others without appearing like a total train wreck. She rinsed her own towels as best she could in the bathroom then gave them a spray and hung them out of her window to dry. Only then did she take a deep breath and wander out to the kitchen and fix herself a large glass of water. Holden was sat at the small table, nursing a black coffee. He smiled and nodded at her.
"Dana. Glad you're feeling better."
She let out a laugh in a rush.
"Thanks. How are you feeling?"
"Good. Good." His eyes were warm and kind and Dana felt herself looking away to avoid his gaze.
"I'm really embarrassed," she confided softly, "I can't remember half of what happened last night." She bit her lip.
"Apparently I was a mess. I'm sorry if you had to deal with...any of that."
Holden didn't react. He felt guilty that she clearly didn't remember the almost-kiss, but he was too selfish to bring it up now. It would just embarrass both of them and she would probably think he was some sort of creep who took advantage of drunk girls. Nothing had happened. And he was cool with that.
Damn she was still cute though. All sincere with her damp hair clutching a huge tumbler of water.
He laughed at himself. Eventually he would stop hitting on girls who were emotionally unavailable.
"That's ok Dana. You seemed fine to me. I left you with Marty I think - and he was sleeping so I'm sure you didn't cause too many problems!"
Dana's cheeks lost all colour then suddenly bloomed bright red. She laughed nervously and scooped her hair behind her ear.
"That's good to know."
Kurt's head appeared around the doorframe.
"Heads up guys, heading to the lake in 2 minutes. Nice of you to join us Dana." He winked conspiratorially and vanished with a shit eating grin on his handsome face. Dana rolled her eyes, sighed and poured her water into the sink, placing the empty glass on the side and heading to her room to grab her bikini and Marty's towel - which although being damp was at least cleaner than hers. She hoped he didn't mind, she'd already offered to wash it when they got back to the flat.
Marty was having what he could only describe as an 'existential crisis.' Dana clearly didn't remember that she'd hit him - pretty damn hard he might add - across the face and for some reason thought that they'd had some sort of moment. That something had happened between them. And now he couldn't get the idea out of his head. The thought that Dana...liked him. Or at least hadn't dismissed him completely because of his...stoner ways. He knew he smoked too much but after his brother had left home and his father had started sleeping around (yes he knew, he wasn't an idiot) he'd just kind of felt a need to escape and smoking just...lessened the load. Helped him forget his troubles, even for a brief time. Everyone had their own ways of dealing. This was his. His parents' marriage was breaking down and he felt guilty because he just wanted it to end. Marty dug in his pocket for a normal cigarette, some way behind the others on the forest track to the lake and thought about his options as he smoked. Dana was amazing, he'd always known that - with her stupidly blue eyes and her cute smile and her really cool drawings he saw her doodle in lectures when she thought no one was looking. He remembered seeing her for the first time since grade school, her hair a newly-coloured shade of red and Jules reintroducing them, Dana laughing and saying she actually couldn't remember the last time they saw each other. He'd thought about it for a second - a second - then realised she would never go for him and he wouldn't have a chance even in the deepest and darkest circles of hell. Marty took a last drag, flicked his ash to the side and squished the butt into the pine needles of the forest floor. But now...what...had happened? Dana thought they'd made out or something, instead of her making out with Holden like Jules and Kurt had planned...like what the hell! How had he gotten himself into this situation? How did he get himself further into it...oh god the innuendoes. He groaned and rubbed at his tired eyes. He wasn't ready for this but he probably wouldn't have another chance. Ever.
"Marty!" Kurt thundered over to him, so loud Marty thought the fish might be able to hear him coming on the other side of the lake. Possibly the entire animal population had been woken from their slumber.
"You slowpoke! What the hell are you doing back here? We thought you'd gotten lost man!" He bodily picked the smaller man up and ran along the path until the lake came into view and Marty began to struggle feebly and make half-assed noises of protest.
"Kurt you unfeeling interrupter of my inner peace!"
"Suck it blondie." Kurt deposited his friend onto the rickety wooden pier and with a whoop launched himself in after his girlfriend who screamed and back paddled away, setting Holden and Dana off into a fit of giggling. Marty shuffled to the edge of the dock and slung his legs over the edge, allowing his feet to dangle in the cool water as he grumbled to himself and began to prepare a joint, deciding the best way out of this was to escape on a reefer fuelled train to bliss. He was half way through his first joint when Dana surfaced to his right like some sort of otherworldly mermaid and he leaned back in delayed shock, the red head laughing at him.
"Come on Marty, you're missing all the fun. You know Kurt'll just drag you in eventually..."
"She's right!" Came Kurt's disembodied affirmation.
Marty met Dana's blue eyed gaze with his own glassy stare and a look of acute disappointment flashed across her face before she appeared to force it down and plaster a smile there instead.
"It's better to come in of your own free will than be thrown in." Marty felt his brow furrow as he searched for something - anything - to say to her. After a few minutes she shook her head and turned to swim back to the others. He took a deep lungful of the pot and thought about how beautiful she was for a moment before letting the joint drop into the water, pulling off his shirt and t and tumbling into the water with an ungraceful flail of limbs, bitching and whining all the way. The water was motherfucking freezing.
"It's like the 10th circle of hell in here." He stated, causing Jules to splash him playfully.
"Don't be such a pussy Mikalski." Said Kurt affectionately then Jules said suddenly.
"I propose a game."
"What kind of game, Jules."
"Dare-tag." There was a communal groan and Dana shook her head despairingly.
"Jules, we're in a lake, what exactly are we gonna dare people to do? Swim?"
"She's got a point." Agreed Holden. Marty was fervently against this too. If anyone knew about him and Dana it was Jules and there was no way he was gonna be dared into kissing her. He was gonna do that in his own damn time and preferably with mutual desire on both sides.
"Fine! Be boring!" The blonde pouted, "Can we at least play normal tag?"
Kurt launched himself at Holden before anyone could agree and the friends engaged in a raucous game until it was generally decided they should go back to the cabin and finish off the alcohol. So they didn't have to take it home - of course.
"Dana. Glad you're feeling better."
She let out a laugh in a rush.
"Thanks. How are you feeling?"
"Good. Good." His eyes were warm and kind and Dana felt herself looking away to avoid his gaze.
"I'm really embarrassed," she confided softly, "I can't remember half of what happened last night." She bit her lip.
"Apparently I was a mess. I'm sorry if you had to deal with...any of that."
Holden didn't react. He felt guilty that she clearly didn't remember the almost-kiss, but he was too selfish to bring it up now. It would just embarrass both of them and she would probably think he was some sort of creep who took advantage of drunk girls. Nothing had happened. And he was cool with that.
Damn she was still cute though. All sincere with her damp hair clutching a huge tumbler of water.
He laughed at himself. Eventually he would stop hitting on girls who were emotionally unavailable.
"That's ok Dana. You seemed fine to me. I left you with Marty I think - and he was sleeping so I'm sure you didn't cause too many problems!"
Dana's cheeks lost all colour then suddenly bloomed bright red. She laughed nervously and scooped her hair behind her ear.
"That's good to know."
Kurt's head appeared around the doorframe.
"Heads up guys, heading to the lake in 2 minutes. Nice of you to join us Dana." He winked conspiratorially and vanished with a shit eating grin on his handsome face. Dana rolled her eyes, sighed and poured her water into the sink, placing the empty glass on the side and heading to her room to grab her bikini and Marty's towel - which although being damp was at least cleaner than hers. She hoped he didn't mind, she'd already offered to wash it when they got back to the flat.
Marty was having what he could only describe as an 'existential crisis.' Dana clearly didn't remember that she'd hit him - pretty damn hard he might add - across the face and for some reason thought that they'd had some sort of moment. That something had happened between them. And now he couldn't get the idea out of his head. The thought that Dana...liked him. Or at least hadn't dismissed him completely because of his...stoner ways. He knew he smoked too much but after his brother had left home and his father had started sleeping around (yes he knew, he wasn't an idiot) he'd just kind of felt a need to escape and smoking just...lessened the load. Helped him forget his troubles, even for a brief time. Everyone had their own ways of dealing. This was his. His parents' marriage was breaking down and he felt guilty because he just wanted it to end. Marty dug in his pocket for a normal cigarette, some way behind the others on the forest track to the lake and thought about his options as he smoked. Dana was amazing, he'd always known that - with her stupidly blue eyes and her cute smile and her really cool drawings he saw her doodle in lectures when she thought no one was looking. He remembered seeing her for the first time since grade school, her hair a newly-coloured shade of red and Jules reintroducing them, Dana laughing and saying she actually couldn't remember the last time they saw each other. He'd thought about it for a second - a second - then realised she would never go for him and he wouldn't have a chance even in the deepest and darkest circles of hell. Marty took a last drag, flicked his ash to the side and squished the butt into the pine needles of the forest floor. But now...what...had happened? Dana thought they'd made out or something, instead of her making out with Holden like Jules and Kurt had planned...like what the hell! How had he gotten himself into this situation? How did he get himself further into it...oh god the innuendoes. He groaned and rubbed at his tired eyes. He wasn't ready for this but he probably wouldn't have another chance. Ever.
"Marty!" Kurt thundered over to him, so loud Marty thought the fish might be able to hear him coming on the other side of the lake. Possibly the entire animal population had been woken from their slumber.
"You slowpoke! What the hell are you doing back here? We thought you'd gotten lost man!" He bodily picked the smaller man up and ran along the path until the lake came into view and Marty began to struggle feebly and make half-assed noises of protest.
"Kurt you unfeeling interrupter of my inner peace!"
"Suck it blondie." Kurt deposited his friend onto the rickety wooden pier and with a whoop launched himself in after his girlfriend who screamed and back paddled away, setting Holden and Dana off into a fit of giggling. Marty shuffled to the edge of the dock and slung his legs over the edge, allowing his feet to dangle in the cool water as he grumbled to himself and began to prepare a joint, deciding the best way out of this was to escape on a reefer fuelled train to bliss. He was half way through his first joint when Dana surfaced to his right like some sort of otherworldly mermaid and he leaned back in delayed shock, the red head laughing at him.
"Come on Marty, you're missing all the fun. You know Kurt'll just drag you in eventually..."
"She's right!" Came Kurt's disembodied affirmation.
Marty met Dana's blue eyed gaze with his own glassy stare and a look of acute disappointment flashed across her face before she appeared to force it down and plaster a smile there instead.
"It's better to come in of your own free will than be thrown in." Marty felt his brow furrow as he searched for something - anything - to say to her. After a few minutes she shook her head and turned to swim back to the others. He took a deep lungful of the pot and thought about how beautiful she was for a moment before letting the joint drop into the water, pulling off his shirt and t and tumbling into the water with an ungraceful flail of limbs, bitching and whining all the way. The water was motherfucking freezing.
"It's like the 10th circle of hell in here." He stated, causing Jules to splash him playfully.
"Don't be such a pussy Mikalski." Said Kurt affectionately then Jules said suddenly.
"I propose a game."
"What kind of game, Jules."
"Dare-tag." There was a communal groan and Dana shook her head despairingly.
"Jules, we're in a lake, what exactly are we gonna dare people to do? Swim?"
"She's got a point." Agreed Holden. Marty was fervently against this too. If anyone knew about him and Dana it was Jules and there was no way he was gonna be dared into kissing her. He was gonna do that in his own damn time and preferably with mutual desire on both sides.
"Fine! Be boring!" The blonde pouted, "Can we at least play normal tag?"
Kurt launched himself at Holden before anyone could agree and the friends engaged in a raucous game until it was generally decided they should go back to the cabin and finish off the alcohol. So they didn't have to take it home - of course.