Busted (reserved)

Kazumi strolled through the grape vines with her jacket pulled over her. Although it was summer, she was cold. I probably should be getting back soon. she thought. Before Chase realizes i'm gone. Kauzmi sat down on a nearby bench and admired all the grape vines. They're so pretty.... she thought getting lost in thought. A gentle breeze blew through her hair, and Kazumi smiled.

Chase sighed. He slid his hands into the pocket of his jacket as he strolled through the town, looking at the signs to make sure he was headed in the right direction. Only I could get lost in a town this size, he thought. He was heading back from tending to Kazumi's farm, going home for the day. It would suck to get back even later than necessary.

When he saw the Vineyard, he knew he was headed in the right direction. It wouldn't be far now. But he saw something else, standing among the grapevines. It looked like...

"Kazumi?" he said aloud. He squinted. No, that was impossible. She was at his house, sleeping.

Kazumi heard a familer voice. And when she did, a voice rang loudly in her head. RUN! it said. HIDE! Kazumi got up from the bench and ran into the vine yards, ducking and snaking her way furthur and further in. Oh dear oh dear oh dear! She panicked. She didn't want to run from Chase, but she didn't have much of a choice. She'd run back to Chase's house and climb in the bed abefore he suspected anything. That thought only made Kazu's stomic lurch. The last thing she wanted to do was lie.

Chase frowned. It was definitely Kazumi; she had ran when she heard her name. It wasn't hard to follow after her; she was making quite a commotion as she tumbled through the vineyard. "Kazumi!" he called again, jumping over the fence and nearly catching up to her.

"What are you doing?" He demanded, staring at her. "I thought you were sick!"

Kazu gasped and fell backword. "I uhh....." "i ummm..." Kazu was trying to find the right words. She was sick. "ummmmm." Kazu looked around, looking for something to help her. In the end, she just sighed. "I snuck out...." she said poitning the obvious out. "I'm sorry.....i didn't plan to stay out for long. And besides, i wasn't alone!" "I was with Ar- ummmmm a responable friend...."

Chase sighed, covering his face with his hand. He was, all of a sudden, exhausted. "Um, okay," he said, frustrated. "Why would you sneak out? What on earth compelled you to do something so stupid? You're sick, aren't you? You need to be in bed." He was irritated. "And who the heck was this 'responsible friend' of yours? Was she worth sneaking out to see?" He could feel his trust in her draining away.

Kauz could see the enegery draining from Chase's face. She felt terrible, like someone had just punched her in the stomic. She was barley able to speak. Although she knew it would land her in more trouble, she decided to tell Chase why she was out and whom she was with. She owned him that much. "Quite honestly, i don't know why i snuck out." "Perhaps i'm just not used to being cared for like this and it was too much." 'Perhaps i felt helpless and weak, which i'm not used to." Kauz was silent for a moment. "I was with Ari...." Kazumi replied. "I don't know if you've met him but...he's met Mia before." "I sware, we found eachother by accident."

Something snapped. Chase's eyebrows flew to the top of his forehead. "What?" He didn't think himself capable of saying anything else. He was stunned. He rubbed his temples with his fingers, pinching hard, and then looked back up, eyes narrowed. "Let me get this straight. You don't want to be taken care of, so you snuck out of my house, which I offered to you so you wouldn't be by yourself in some godforsaken hospital, and you met up with a guy?" He paused. He had met Ari, only once before, but he was a good deal older than Chase, and even more so than Kazumi. "And not only did you leave, but you met up with an older man? Do you have any idea what could've happened?" He made an exasperated, angry sound and turned around.

Kazu sat there, absolutly speechless. She felt a mixture of things, fear, sorrow, guilt, but mostly guilt. Tears climbed into her eyes although she battled to fight them back. Her heart thumped hard in her chest. A light or something snapped into Kazumi's brain. All of a sudden, the tears were pushed away. She stood up and brushed herself off. "I'm sorry." she said again more confidently." "And quite honestly, i feel terrible." 'You take me into your home and i betray you." That was very immature of me, but i'll be 18 in the fall, don't treat me like a little girl anymore." "I've lived on my own for 10 years and i've survived." Kazumi let the blanket dropped off of her. Her hands were placed on her hips and her eyebrows were bent forward. "You have every right to be angry, but from now on, stop acting like my father." The last word was practicly spat. I don't need to be taken care of. she thought. And i surly don't need to be a burden anymore.

Chase's eyes flashed. "Kazumi, if you don't want to be treated like a little kid, don't act like one," he snapped. "I shouldn't have to keep tabs on you! You're right, you're old enough to know better." He threw his hands in the air. "I took you into my house! I felt responsible for you! Do you know how guilty I would feel if something happened to you?" He hadn't been so angry in...a very long time. "If you're doing so well on your own, then you certainly shouldn't feel obligated to stay with me! Go on and be your own person. I'm definitely not going to be the one to stifle you." He was ready to leave.

"Fine then!" Kauzmi snapped back. She turning on her heels and angerly dashed off, her hands were balled up and her face was red with anger and tears trying to creep out again. She forced them back with great force, straining her eyes. She disapeared into the vines for good. Once she was away from Chase and near out of the feild, a gret teirdeness and guilt hit her like a kite. She collapsed behind a building, and the tears she was forcing back pured out. SHe knew Chase was right, and becuase of that she left. She felt terrible about everything. Kauzmi stood back up and disapered. Not to her farm, or to any town, but deep into the forest until she ad no idea where she was. She need to think, she needed to get away, she needed to beat something with a stick.

Chase frowned. A wrinkle formed between his eyebrows. He was tired of fighting with Kazumi. He didn't want to be the bad guy. But he couldn't help feeling that she harbored some kind of grudge against him. There was something in the way that she looked at him sometimes that he couldn't quite put his finger on. It confused him, and he just couldn't figure out why she could do complete 180 personality changes. "Kazumi," he called after her, sighing in defeat.