Het bos.

She didn't understand why what she said was so funny to him, but it made him laugh, so she knew she had probably misunderstood what he had said. 'What did I say wrong?' she asked. She wasn't hurt by him laughing, she knew he wasn't laughing at her and that what she'd said had probably been very funny, but she did want to know what it had been. If she just let it go every time, she would never learn what was the right thing to say, when she was supposed to take things literally and when not to. He took the coat from her and put it on. After doing that, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She liked it when he did that, and she let her head rest against his shoulder. If she had been chilly before, she surely wasn't any more, with him this close to her. 'Why are they afraid of us?' she wondered. 'We don't want to hurt them, or scare them, right?'

'Excuse me,' he apologised when she asked him what she did wrong. Laughing and not getting any answers wasn't ofcourse a chance to learn something. 'Cool is a word used by teenagers and other young people, it means you are nice or it can also mean you are calm, or you are someone to look up to. It has different meanings.' When he thought of it, it was not very easy to explain something like that to her. A word they use almost every day. Her head was resting against his shoulder and he was again relieved that she reacted like it should be, she didn't was startled because she wasn't used to be held by someone. 'Because we are a lot bigger than them and some people hunt the animals, so they are even more scared of us. And no, we don't want to hurt them, but there are people who would, and to those animals, we humans are all the same.'

'That's... weird...' she said, frowning, as he explained that the word cool meant something different than the meaning she had learned. 'And really, really confusing. Why do people make up such different meanings for the same word?' She didn't expect that question to get answered but she did feel her confusion was to be acknowledged and in this case, she didn't even feel that bad about not knowing what he had meant. He talked to her about the animals, how they were scared because they were smaller, and because they were hunted on by other people. 'Why would people hurt them, then? They don't deserve that.' she said quietly, looking at the bushes to see if she could find any animals there. She'd seen cats and dogs walk through the streets of the city, but these animals seemed very different. Where the cats in the city would come up to her and rub against her legs until she petted them, these animals stayed hidden away, out of sight. She understood their hiding, though. She preferred hiding too, when there was a chance of getting hurt.

Aiden could understand it was confusing to her. 'That is a hard question, I think because it is easier to say a word that has a lot of different meanings.' He smiled at her. 'When I was younger, I used to say words like that so many times, really stupid when I think of it now.' He wanted to reassure her, but he didn't know how. 'You don't have to worry about that by the way. It is not something you need to know now.' She needed to focus on other things, more important things to learn than the word cool. She asked him why people would hurt the animals and he was quiet for a few seconds. 'I don't know if I am doing any good by saying this, and it is really not that bad so you don't need to be sad or feel guily, okay?' He waited a bit, trying to figure out how he could say it so it wouldn't sound so bad to someone innocent like Emma. 'Do you know what meat is? It is something we need to eat to survive, well you can survive with other things too, but I don't think you can live healthy without eating meat. And meat comes from the animals, people kill them to give us food. Not all of them of course, mostly cows or pigs or chicken, there are also other reasons, but that is the most biggest one.'

She liked hearing him talk about when he was younger. It was a way for her to get to know him a little better after all that she had missed. 'I kind of get that... I guess,' she said, though it still seemed a bit strange to her that people didn't just use a different word for different things. The next thing he said confused her even more. She nodded when he said that she didn't need to feel guilty or sad. 'Okay...' She knew what meat was, they had eaten it before, but she had no idea where it came from - just as she had no idea where all the other food came from. It seemed so unfair that animals had to get killed in order for them to be healthy. Still, she tried not to appear to upset, as she didn't want to stimulate the idea that she was breakable, knowing that if he thought things would hurt her this easily, he would be less likely to tell her the truth about certain things. 'I understand. It feels unfair, but I understand that people do what needs to be done to stay alive,' she replied after a short silence.

He nodded when she said she kind of get that. 'Like I said, you don't need to worry about that. I understand you perfectly like this and you don't need to know all those extra words.' He noticed how she got nervous, her body stiffened a bit next to him and he knew she was worrying about what he was going to say, probably nervous it had something to do with her. He could hear from her voice that she didn't agreed with what she said, but he didn't say something about it. 'Yes, they do. But you have to admit it tastes delicious,' he said trying to make her laugh again. He would not survive a day without it. It worried him she cared about this, there was a lot of evil in this world and she didn't knew about most of it. How would she react if she found out about murder, abuse, war and all other things? What if she would become so scared she didn't want to step outside?

'It does taste good,' she said, cracking a smile as a way of showing him what he said hadn't scarred her too much. It would stay in the back of her mind the next time they ate meat, though. She relaxed her shoulders a bit as she looked at him. Even though he tried to joke around and make it sound a little less bad, she thought she also saw a spark of worry in his eyes and she believed she knew why.   'You don't have to worry when you tell me something like this. I mean, I might not like to hear it, but I'd find out anyway and I can handle it,' she tried to reassure him. He could be just as stubborn as her, though, and she knew it. 'Shielding me from bad things isn't going to protect me from them. So I'm glad when you tell me things like this.' Hoping she got her point across, she smiled slightly. The morning light haloed around his head, creating sparks in his eyes and then in her heart.
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Het is zo heerlijk om na een dag hard werken hier nog even te kunnen schrijven, you have no clue

She already knew how she could reassure him, by reacting seriously to his stupid jokes. He knew she did that to show it was not bothering her but in her head she was probably thinking it over and over again. He wondered if her stumach would turn the next time she ate something, she would probably wonder what animal it was, or what part of the animal it would be. Maybe he had ruined already too much for her. 'I know that,' he said, but his voice gave away he was not finished yet. 'But you are so innocent Emma, you are good and nice in a way no one else can be, just because you don't know about all the bad things in the world.' He smiled too and he couldn't resist letting his fingers go slowly over her cheek. 'I really like you Emma, just like you are and I don't want the world to change you, like it did to all the rest of us.'
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Sorry! Met mijn aankomende stage heb ik het de laatste nogal druk gehad. Maar nu ik ga beginnen en (bijna) al het werk gedaan is, kan ik weer wat vaker reageren

No problem honey, ik heb het ook erg druk gehad!
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He tried to reassure her with a smile and soft words, speaking of innocence and change. 'But that's not really how it works, is it?' she said, as she looked away. 'You can't keep the entire world away from me so I won't know exactly what awful things are happening. I don't want that, and neither should you. This world is a mystery to me, and I want to unravel it, both the good and the bad parts because that is what it is made up of. I know I might not have as much experience as other people...' her voice wavered for a second as she felt his light touch, caressing her cheek, heard his voice ghosting through her mind. She tried to keep her voice soft and steady. 'But it is not for you to make out who I am. Or who I'll become. Just because I'm new does not mean I am all good, all innocent, some pure form to be kept intact. I am my own person.' She didn't dare look up, afraid of the pain she might see in his eyes. Please don't hate me for this, she thought. She hadn't meant to hurt him, of course not!, but the fear that she did seeped through her mind, her stomach, her everything and she tensed up next to him.

She did not look at him, the whole time she spoke, she looked at her feet. Maybe it was good she looked away, so she would not see what her words did to him. He knew she was right, he just didn't like it. Those words made him scared, knowing that one day she might not want to be with him anymore, when she would want to unravel everything on her own, not needing anyone but herself. He stopped touching her cheek by putting his hands in his pockets again and now he was the one looking away. 'You are right,' he said, letting the silence fall between them for a few seconds. He didn't knew what he could say now to let her know it was okay, that there wasn't a problem. 'Just be careful, there are so many bad things and bad people out there, not everyone will just avoid you.' Some people would maybe even want to hurt her, because she was curious and couldn't understand the danger in some things. And because she was one of the survivors, gaven something no one else had, a gift.

She thought her expectations were met when he stopped touching her, but when he spoke, his voice wasn't cold, or distant, but soft and understanding. It gave her the courage to finally look up again. Her shoulders and expression relaxed as she met his eyes. 'I know. And I don't want everyone to avoid me, but I also know it's going to be difficult sometimes, and there is a good chance I'm going to get hurt. I just... I'd like to believe that in the end, it'll be worth it,' she said, not letting go of his gaze. 'Before we'd been let outside, I was so hopeful, I longed to this world that would me mine, too, when those doors opened. And I remember just being frightened afterwords, after I'd gone outside. All those eyes staring at me, I knew what they were thinking and that hurt. So I hid in buildings, acting like I was being strong and going outside while really I was just very scared. And then I met you and I...' she shrugged, not being able to hide a tiny smile when she said that. 'You amazed me. You still do.'

She looked at his eyes and didn't look away after a few seconds like she normally would do, which made him more interested in what she was about to say, it probably was important. He could see a spark in her eyes, the spark of confidence in her own words. 'I hope it will be worth it,' he said, not knowing if he was sure of his own words. Would it be worth it? She started to tell him how it was before she met him, how she would hide and was so scared of everything she saw outside. He could believe it would be frightening, all those new things and people constantly looking at and avoiding her would probably not make it easier. Her last words were more silent, and he felt the smile on his lips afterwards. 'That is sweet Emma,' he said. 'But you are the amazing one here. You are already smarter than I am,' he said, again with his jokes.

She nodded slowly, nuzzling her head against his shoulder for a second. He was unsure, it was audible in his voice and it made her sad to realise how much this affected him. For the moment, she let it go, not wanting to turn this trip into something bad. 'I still believe that that's very much up for debate,' she murmured when he countered her. For a little while, she was perfectly content standing there with him, the soft sounds of the woods around them, before she remembered something. She allowed herself - them - a minute more of this, a minute more of silence and warmth and feeling him this close to her. A deep breath later, she looked up. 'I don't want to ruin this,' she started with an apologetic smile, 'but I promised them I would be back not too late in the morning and I honestly have no idea what time it is right now.' She had gotten into quite the heated argument with one of their helpers about leaving for the night, one that she ended with a door slammed close behind her so she wouldn't keep Aiden waiting, so it was probably a good thing if she showed up early, unharmed and without having done harm to anyone.

He felt her head against his shoulder and he layed his arm around her waist, holding her close to him. The silence was comforting, made him happy to be here. He smiled when she murmured that it was still up for debate. She looked at him, saying she promised to be back not too late this morning. 'Oh,' he said, totally forgotten she lived with helpers who were very strict and wanted to know where she was. 'Of course, excuse me,' he said with a little smile. 'I lost track of time here with you,' he added as an excuse. He looked at her so close to him one more time. Her beautiful long hair and her eyes which had the same breathtaking spark when they were together. He realised she would fit here perfectly. The green of the leaves on trees came back in her eyes and she was calm and mysterious like these woods, and she made him feel home, just like this place did. 'Okay,' he said. 'Let's go.' He looked for his backpack, starting to put away a few things.

She shook her head. 'Don't worry. It'll probably be fine, I just wouldn't want to cause a scene or something,' she replied as she answered his smile. 'And you weren't the only one who lost track of time.' For a moment, he looked at her as if he was watching a sky full of stars instead of looking in her eyes and she felt her breath falter. She wondered if she looked at him the same way - part marvel, part amazement. Then, he averted his gaze and she followed him as he started to gather their stuff and the camping gear that lay all around the smothered fire. 'I wish we didn't have to go,' she said softly as she started to help out with taking down the tent, whisking her hair out of her face. 'I really loved being here with you.' Her chest tightened - and not in a good way - when she thought of walking through the streets of Amon again, but on the other hand she felt like this night had been a breather, a while away from it all, and now she was ready to get back out again.

She said he wasn't the only one who had lost track of time. It made him happy to know she had also fun, because he could not find a better word for it. He looked away when he saw she was startled by his look, he didn't want to feel her uncomfortable by his fault. She softly said she didn't want to leave and he did almost did not hear it. 'I also wish we didn't have to go.' He smiled whe she said she loved it here with him. For a moment, he didn't knew what he could say to that. 'That's sweet,' he said. 'I loved it too. And I promise you we will be back soon.' Then/Than(?) he realized he maybe was pushing her. 'If you want to ofcourse.' He saw the look in her eyes, it almost seemed that she was scared of going back and he could understand why. He hated the fact he could not help her with that. He could not stop the people of looking at her.

Hier is het "Then". "Then" is een tijdsbepaling, "toen" en "Than" gebruik je alleen in vergelijkingen: she is taller than me.
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Her chest tightened as she saw him smile. She loved making him laugh, knowing she was the reason he was happy. They started to break up the tent, slowly but steadily. He brought her promises of returning soon and she nodded. 'I'd like that,' was her soft reply. After seeing the beach and the party, she realised this might be the favourite place he brought her. The beach had been amazing and beautiful and the sea was a wonder to beware, but still the people had brought her quite some uncertainty - same went down during the party. Though she had loved the dancing and the fairy lights and... well, the other things that happened that evening, and even though it hadn't been like many people had been staring at her, the crowds themselves had made her nervous. Here, things were quiet and she felt like her head cleared from worry and she could breathe slowly, with Aiden, and with low sunlight shining through the leaves.

Oh, oké dank je! Tussen die twee twijfel ik nog vaak
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She softly said she would like it to come back with him, which made him happy even more. The thought he would come back here with Emma, maybe next week, maybe next month or next year was a nice prospect. There fell a silence between the both of them and he didn't want to ruin it by saying stupid things, things people said to keep conversations going. She could see how the weather was, he knew what and how she was doing and he just liked it this way. The sounds of the woods and the silence between them. It made him comfortable, liking it to be around her. He hated it when people talked about all those stupid things, as if they could not live with silence. It was hard to put the tent away, like it always was. He remembered how Lucas always jumped on it, to let the air get away, and it didn't work at all.

They had some trouble getting the tent back in its cover, trying to fold it up in the smallest way possible, and it took them some tries before they got it right. A silence had fallen between them during the process, though she couldn't stop herself from stealing a look once in a while. The place around them looked almost untouched now, the only thing that gave away their presence was the remains of the little camp fire they had made the night before and the patched ground where the tent had been just a while ago. Wiping her earthy hands on her trousers, she looked up at Aiden. 'Let's go?' she asked while getting her backpack, uncertain if they had to do something else before they left. She held her hand out subtly, not wanting to force him grab her hand if he didn't feel like it but at the same time trying to show him that she surely wouldn't mind if he did.

After a while they were ready to go back to the city. He looked at the grass, the trees and the sky of these woods, hoping he would come back as soon as possible. She asked to go and he nodded. 'Just one second,' he said and walked to the fire to check if it was completely extinct. It would be terrible if there would be a forest fire by his fault. 'Yes, we can go,' he said after he checked everything. He looked at her backpack. 'Don't you want me to carry it?' he said. 'I can handle both,' he continued with a smile. He saw her hand and verstrengelde (ik weet het sorry, had het al eens gelezen maar ik ben het helemaal vergeten en te moe om terug te zoeken haha) his fingers with hers, holding her hand very close to him. 'So, lead me away captain,' he said, wondering if she still knew how to find the way back to the car.

She waited while he checked if the fire wasn't burning any more, smiling softly when he grabbed her hand. 'I know I might look fragile and I am definitely not as tall as you are, but I can carry my own bag,' she replied laughing. He told her to lead the way and she looked around, a little panicked. 'Right. So... All the trees still look pretty much the same to me. I'm literally lost already.' She slowly started walking, hoping he'd just let her know if they were going the opposite direction. For a little while, she remained quiet as she was building up the courage to ask him something she was pretty sure he wasn't going to like. 'Aiden? Did you tell your father about coming here with me?' she asked, her voice soft, trying not to sound in any way accusing or something as that was in now way her intention. She wasn't trying to push him, she was merely trying to figure out how much Aiden was prepared to push his father on this. The last thing she would want was for things at home to become even more screwed up for him, and on the other hand she knew that if she admitted that, he might keep things from her so she wouldn't feel guilty. Still, just avoiding the topic altogether did not seem like a great option either.

He smiled when she said she was able to carry her own bag. 'Excuse me, my lady,' he said with a polite voice and a bow, again trying to make her smile. She did not saw it coming that he asked her to lead the way to the car and he could see the panic in her eyes. She said she was already lost in these woods and he squeezed her hand a little to reassure her. She began to walk in the right direction, so he didn't say anything about the way. After a few seconds she carefully asked him about his father and he felt his good mood shrinking. 'Eh..' he said, hoping to gain some time. 'I told him I was going away, that's all he needed to know.' He knew he was against the people who were like Emma and he knew he would freak out if he told he was away with her. So he wisely decided not to tell him about her, not yet. He looked away. 'I am sorry Emma, it is not that I'm embarrassed about you, not at all. But he is not..' He fell silent, looking for the right words. 'He is a lot like the other people of Amon.'
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Sorry dat het terug even duurde! Hoe gaat het met de examens?

That's all right! Ik heb twee examens achter de rug, nog zeven te gaan de komende anderhalve week... Die eerste twee gingen op zich wel, volgens mij. I guess I'll find out...
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She laughed as he politely bowed for her and took her hand as they started walking. But as she heard herself ask him about his father, she could feel him tense up next to her. He didn't seem sure of what to say and she wondered if she'd been wrong to ask him after all. Many thoughts ravished through her mind while he was finding the words. When he did speak, she heard the way he tried to assure her of his intentions and she realised he'd been afraid she wouldn't approve of him not telling his father. 'Oh, no, Aiden, I wasn't insinuating that you- no. Of course not. I didn't think you were embarrassed, neither am I. How could I be, with- ' she cut herself off as she looked at him and felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. 'It's good, it's fine. I was only thinking that I wouldn't want you to tell him. I mean, I would want you to be able to, but I know that that's not- I don't mind you not telling him, is what I'm trying to say, if you think that that's the way to keep everything at home as... okay and stable as possible. I wouldn't want to cause any more trouble. If it is easier to not talk about it, that's okay. Don't feel guilty, please.' She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand in an attempt to reassure him a bit.

En hoe is het nog geweest? Sorry voor de late reactie.. Ik heb net stage gehad en morgen mijn eerste examen dus het is nogal druk.
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He could see how insecure she was after asking him about his father. She knew this was a subject he rather like to avoid. Her answer was hard to understand, she didn't finish her sentences what again proved how nervous she was about this. This was one of the first times he heared her confused about something. 'Chill, Emma' he said with a smile. 'You didn't said anything wrong, but it's very cute how hard you try not to make me feel bad.' He pressed his lips against her forehead for a second. 'You are very sweet you know. And as soon the rest of Amon realises there is no danger and stop writing about you in the paper, the one that my father reads every day, I promise I will tell him everything about you.' He knew that was the best way, waiting for everything to cool down. There would come a day they would not be interesting anymore and almost normal like the others.

No worries! Succes met je examen(s)! Die van mij gingen volgens mij wel oké, deels in ieder geval. Ik hoor pas 11 juni de uitslag, dus het blijft nog even spannend...
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She relaxed into his touch, leaning towards him as she felt his soft lips pressed against her forehead in a second of bliss. The smile on his face calmed her, made her chest tighten for very different reasons than the fright she'd felt before. 'Is it working?' she asked, letting a smile spread across her face as well, when he told her how cute - that was so not what she was going for, but she'd take it - it was that she was trying to stop him from feeling bad about the whole affair. She nodded slowly as he continued, pulling the sleeves of her sweater over her hands. 'I know. I know things will change and get better and all of that, but they haven't yet, and we're not out of the woods yet...' she smiled, looking around. 'Both... how do you say that? Figuratively and literally.' Her eyes locked with his again. 'Just, until that happens... It's all okay. Okay?'

Nogmaals, sorry de examens waren zwaarder dan ik dacht. Maar nu kan de vakantie beginnen en heb ik weer heel veel tijd om te reageren!
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He smiled when she asked if it worked. 'It surely did,' he said. 'When you are with me, it is almost impossible to give me a bad feeling.' He smiled and pointed with his finger to his forehead. 'Except when you're playing with my mind ofcourse. He looked at the trees when she said they were not out of the woods yet. He knew she was right about that and he wishes he could do something to make it more liveable for her. 'Yeah, everything is okay, and you don't need to be afraid by my father or something. The day I will take you to meet him, everything will be just fine. I promise you that.' He could understand she was probably terrified of meeting his family, especially his father after hearing all that. 'And we're almost out of the woods by the way.' He said and pointed at the car, hidden among the trees in the distance.

'Good. That's good,' she mumbled, nuzzling closer to him for a second. 'And just so you know, that feeling is mutual.' Her smile wavered a second when he mentioned her toying with his mind, but she pushed the bad thoughts away quickly. No more getting herself down about that. Not now, at least. 'I'm not afraid he'll hurt me or something,' she assured him, a little surprised herself when she realised that was true. She was afraid he'd make Aiden's life difficult, or his behaviour would make Aiden do something without thinking. He talked about her meeting his father, and she wondered if that was something she could realistically expect one day. For now, it seemed a spark that wasn't going to catch fire any time soon. A sigh slipped through her lips when he pointed out the car. She was sad to have to leave this place, still pretty much untouched by people. Already, Emma could feel herself tense at the mere thought of going back to town, but she tried not to let Aiden see.

He squeezed her hand for a second when she said the feeling was mutual. It made him really happy to hear that. She assured him by saying she wasn't scared about meeting him, it made him even worry more about it, but he tried to think about something else. He heared her sigh when he said they were almost out of the woods. He could understand she didn't want to leave this place. He also liked it more to be here than being in Amon, and he did not get any looks by the people, yet. He could feel how her body became more tensed up after he said that. He wish he could do something, or say something to make her feel calm again, but he knew he couldn't do anything to make it less hard for her to handle. 'Don't worry,' he said slowly. 'I will drive that fast, nobody will even see us, like ninjas.' He smiled and started looking in his pockets for the key, he always put it in another place and totally forgot where.

Soms zie ik dat we nu bijna 2000 berichten hebben geplaatst op deze site (en waarschijnlijk nog meer want er zijn op een gegeven moment door iets raars een aantal van de onderwerpen verwijderd) en dan denk ik "wow".
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It was sweet, the way he tried to reassure her, and for a while she let herself relax. Not yet there, she tried to keep reminder herself, there is no use in getting all tense about it already. 'Like ninjas?' she echoed, not quite understanding what that meant, although ninjas were apparently very fast. He let go of her hand to look for something - his car keys, Emma realised soon enough. She stuck her hand in the pocket of her cardigan, already missing Aiden's warmth next to her, as she waited for him to get the keys. 'I know there's no getting out of it,' she said softly. 'Just... having been here reminds me of how different it could be. But I also realise things aren't just going to change overnight if I stay away. Avoidance is not a good way of fixing this whole... situation. I just wish there was a way that we could let everybody know we mean no harm.' She smiled. 'I guess I'm just kind of impatient, hm?'
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Ik moet nu naar de yoga voorstelling van mijn kleine zusje, daarna reageer ik meteen met Ben!

Wow, dat is inderdaad al superveel! En het blijft nog steeds goed gaan
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She asked him what ninjas were and he could not resist to smile. 'Ninjas are people completely dressed in black. They are actually fighters, but are more known for being so fast you cannot see them.' After feeling all his pockets he realised he might put the keys in his backpack and after opening it, he immediatly found them. 'That's a relief' he said, referring to the keys. 'I understand you like it more here. It's a bit like being bullied, you know what that is? Avoidance is in that case also the most attractive solution, but not always the best one.' He looked at her when she said she probably was impatient. 'The problem is, they know you can do things. Some of your friends don't hide from us and I think that is the biggest problem. The most people are probably jealous, and something they don't know at all scares them a lot.' He played with the keys and looked away. 'I am jealous too.. Like what you can, or that guy from your house who makes fire, that would be so fantastic to do.'

Emma listened, a bit in awe, to what he had to say about ninjas. She couldn't fathom how people could go so fast that other people wouldn't be able to see them. They got into the car as he talked about how her situation was a bit the same as bullying. She'd heard about bullying before and she did understand why he said there were similarities between the two. 'Have you ever been bullied?' she asked, playing with her own fingers, looking at him from time to time. He continued talking about what he believed other people thought of them. 'Do you think things would be better if everybody would hide their... the things they can do? Wouldn't it frighten people more if they didn't know what we could do?' she wondered. She looked up with a bit of a frown on her face. 'You're jealous of us?' A short silence as she considered that. She'd never thought all of this was something to be jealous of. 'I guess I understand that. A little. It's just that everything that comes with this isn't really something to be jealous of.'