The Good "Outdoors"

[Deleted]

Zach couldn’t help but notice how far under the radar he specifically was from either Alice or Sera. Even though he’d spoken up, neither seemed to acknowledge him much. It was like he wasn’t even here. Honestly, Zach was used to that, his natural quietness made it hard for people to realize he was in the room sometimes, but he was right there in front of these women and they pretended like he wasn’t even there.

Or maybe Zach was just imagining it? Looking for anything in their behavior that can be used as a reason to not like them.

“It’s fine,” Zach told Kai as they moved away from the group. “You did…sort of warn us…well, me…I think.” When he invited him during their not-date. He nodded at Kai’s advice. “I probably would have done that anyway.” Zach readjusted the strap hanging off his shoulder. “Okay.” He smiled up reassuringly at Kai. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’ll just…” He turned to Vanessa. “…I guess we’ll just hang out. It’s not like we have to all…like we have to be around them…for us to have fun, or anything.”

Zach looked towards the cabin they were heading towards. “That one there, right?” He wasn’t sure how he was managing to keep up this smile…but maybe seeing Kai just a little bit exasperated(over something that wasn’t stupid) was an interestingly rare site to see.

Dangit. Zach really needed to stop thinking like that. They weren’t…anymore… sigh…

[Vanessa Rodriguez]

Vanessa continued to stand tall, not letting her posture show her humiliation or embarrassment. The proud woman wouldn't show any signs of weakness, especially around unfamiliar people. She was glad that the younger girls chose to ignore her existence after the comment was made and she responded. Her hold on Christian tightened, to the point where he squirmed and fussed for a moment until she loosened it. Vanessa tore her eyes away from Alice as she followed Kai and Zach away from the others. Thankfully, everyone else seemed on board for the rooming change. She allowed her posture to slip a little, hunching over in defeat. While she was use to the words 'slut', 'whore' and others like it thrown at her, it still... hurt. Plenty of people had casual sex. The only difference between her and them was that she ended up pregnant.

She let out a deep sigh , forcing a smile on her face. "It's okay, I'm use to it." Vanessa added nonchalantly, to reassure her friends. She was just glad that Christian was in her arms, which provided some relief and comfort. Snorting, Vanessa said "Figured. I don't really want to spend time around them anyway, to be completely honest. I can entertain myself out here." She would just go on walks with Christian and play outside, or something. At least by the sounds of it she also had Zach for company. "Yeah, we'll be fine." Vanessa met Zach's eyes, giving a half-hearted smile. "We can still have fun."

"I... I don't want Christian near them, either." Vanessa said, even though she figured it was a given.