Caught Red Handed (Eva, Flashback)

[Evangeline Irvine]

Ignoring Sam's stifled cuss and stumbling feet, Eva made sure he'd gotten out the door before running back into the kitchen. She hadn't had to move this fast since Louise had chased after her for playing with her make-up four years ago, but she knew she had to remove all evidence of Sam's presence. Hastily grabbing up all the cookies on the table she returned them to the tin, then turning back and grabbing his milk glass and putting it in the dishwasher.

The sound of the lock to the front door clicking open made her pulse jump and she quickly leapt back into her chair, forcing herself to relax--not only so as to look natural, but to calm herself back down. Telepaths could sense emotion, if they were open to it. Eva just hoped that Louise would be paying too much attention to her to notice Sam. Footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.

Calling back all she'd read that morning, Eva threw up the strongest barrier in her mind she could to block out her foster mother. Thank goodness she'd managed to successfully get it down, or Sam wouldn't have had a hope in hell of going unnoticed. Swallowing, Eva shifted nervously as she waited for the swiftly approaching footfalls grew ever closer.

"There you are, child," Louise said, appearing in the kitchen doorway. She was dressed primly, as always, her platinum-blonde hair swept up in an elegant knot. Her beady eyes studied Eva suspiciously, as if trying to decipher an impossible code. "What are you doing in here? I expected you to be in the study, practicing."

"I was," Eva said in her defense, though her tone was submissive. Arguing with Louise was a bad idea. "I just decided to take a break and get a drink. Besides, I'm pretty sure I got it down."

The older woman's eyebrows went up, and one of her rare smiles lit up her face. "Do you now?" And with that, Eva felt a pounding in her head, almost like fist slamming into a door. She yelped a little in pain, focusing all her energy on strengthening the barrier so Louise's prying didn't hurt so much. A smug grin split her face when she managed to do so easily. "Very good!" Louise cried happily.

The words gave Eva an idea. "Is it good enough to earn me a reward?" she asked timidly. Naturally, Louise inquired as to what sort of reward she was seeking. "Well, it's such a nice day, and I've been trapped inside this entire time. Might I go out for a bit? Get some fresh air? Maybe go down to the beach for a bit?"

"I... suppose it would be all right," Louise allowed after a long moment's pause. "Just be sure to come back before dark, and try to stay away from other people if you can help it, all right, dear?"

[/i] With a cheerful bob of her head, Eva got to her feet and skipped to the back door, trying not to show how eager she actually was to leave the house.

Opening the door she made to step outside, but then waited until she was sure Louise was upstairs. Heaving a sigh of relief, she closed the door behind her and glanced around. "Sam?" she hissed. Where'd that boy gotten to?[/blockquote]

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam knew how important it was to keep quiet in these situations, and many a time hiding in his closet or under his bed meant that he could be as silent as a mouse if he wanted to. Creeping away from the immediate danger of the house, he snuck inside a cluster of bushes, far enough away so that he felt safe, but also close enough to still hear the voices of Louise and Eva through the door.

He had absolutely no idea what was going on in there, what they were talking about. Practicing? Practicing what? He felt sort of guilty for eavesdropping, but he felt justified by the fact that he needed to in order to know if he needed to scarper quickly. The opposite happened though, Eva actually managed to bargain her way out of the house, go down to the beach. She was clever, he'd give her that.

Eva emerged through the back door, and after a few moments of silence, she whispered his name. He cautiously emerged from the bushes, dusting off a couple of stray twigs before approaching. "Well done," he said with a small smile, "I owe you my life, fair lady." His smile spread into a grin, "I couldn't help but overhear," he said, "that you were thinking about going to the beach. Funny, as I was heading that way myself."

"Come on."

Without putting any thought into it, he took her hand in his and hurried away from the house, back towards the fence which he had come through in the first place. There was a winding path through the woodland surrounding the estate, rays of light piercing through the canopy, making the dust in the air sparkle as they ran through it. He let go of her hand as they approached the beach, breaking out from between the trees onto the soft, white sand.

"Ahhhhh," he sighed, turning back round to her with a grin, "beautiful, isn't it?"

[Evangeline Irvine]

"There you are!" Eva said brightly when Sam stepped out of a nearby stretch of bushes. When he said he owed her his life she rolled her eyes a little, smiling. Before she could say anything in response, he'd gone on to comment about the beach, and next she knew he'd grabbed her hand and ran with her off the property.

Once they were far enough away from Louise's house, she allowed herself to hoot with laughter, gripping his hand a little tighter in order not to fall over as she stumbled a little, which naturally only made her laugh again. It felt oddly rebellious to be running down to the beach with Sam, even if Louise had given her permission, and her entire being thrilled with the feeling.

When they broke through the trees, Sam broke his grip on her hand and sighed happily. Her blue eyes widened as she looked around at the beach, utterly in awe. She'd been down here once or twice before, but every time its beauty managed to mesmerize her. The white sand, the blue ocean, both sparkling in the sun, and the sky--sometimes large white clouds would drift by, but today the sky was a clear and uninterrupted sheet of robin's-egg blue.

Smiling, Eva heaved a sigh of her own and took a few more steps forward before spinning on the spot and falling backwards onto the sand. Who cared if it got in her hair or her clothes? She was determined to enjoy herself regardless. "So... now that we're here, what should we do?" she asked Sam idly, closing her eyes and inhaling the salty air happily.

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam flopped down beside the blonde, his gangly limbs flailing a little before settling themselves into a groove in the sand. "I have absolutely no idea," he grinned, "just chill." He had a feeling she probably didn't get the opportunity to do that much, especially in a place like this. He tickled the palm of her hand with his finger, grinning wickedly as his eyes fell closed, and he soaked up the sun's warm rays.

Luckily, they were far enough away from the beach house so that his Grandparents wouldn't find them. If they did, they would no doubt overload the pair of them with questions about where Sam had been, if they were friends, crack jokes, etc. etc. It was quite nice just lying here with a friend, the sound of the waves lapping against the beach was soothing, and made him feel so peaceful. He didn't get to do this at home. The waves there crashed against the rocks, there was no beach to speak of, and the water was usually gray and murky, not blue and beautiful.

They lay there in silence for quite a while. Sam peeked one of his eyes open, turning his head to look at Eva. She was pretty, and looked so calm when she had her eyes closed like that. Shaking his head at himself, he clambered to his feet, abandoning his shoes before jogging over to the water's edge, his toes immediately being submerged in the water. With a smirk he said, "Eva! Come look at this! You'll never guess what it is!"

[Evangeline Irvine]

"Sounds good by me," Eva consented, burrowing a little deeper into the sand. It felt nice to lie there on the soft sand, bathing in sunlight, and having a friend with her just made it all the more enjoyable. When Sam tickled her palm she jerked her hand back reflexively, biting back a yelp of laughter. Without opening her eyes, she retaliated by reaching over and poking him gently in the ribs.

They simply lay there for a moment in companionable silence, each losing themselves in their own thoughts. Such a silence normally would have made Eva anxious or uncomfortable, but this was nice. With Louise, it was always work, work, work--be it training her telepathy or homeschooling. To actually get a chance to just kick back and relax was different. A different that Eva found she was quite taken with.

She heard Sam move beside her, and was tempted to peek at him and see what he was doing, but he got up suddenly and walked away. He called her name seconds later, and she sprang to her feet curiously, traipsing over to where he stood. "What is it?" she asked, looking at him once before glancing at the surrounding area. "I don't see anything..."

[Sam O'Connor]

"That's because you're not looking hard enough," he told her with a shake of the head. Placing a hand on her back, he titled her over slightly, pointing into the water, "look, right there. Look closely." He waited a couple more moments while she stared, managing to keep his smirk hidden long enough to catch her off balance and push her into the surf, the water splashing up around them as they hit the wet sand.

Letting out a laugh of victory, he realised that revenge was probably coming swiftly, and so scrambled onto his feet, slipping slightly as he scampered off down the beach, froth and sand getting kicked up behind him as he ran. "Sucker!" he cried back to her, probably antagonising her more as he snickered and kept going, determined not to be caught.

Unfortunately, his feet had other ideas - getting tangled around one another, he slammed to the ground, his head slapping the wet sand with a 'thwack'. He let out a low moan, chuckling with laughter then coughing, rolling onto his back, "graceful," he chastised himself.

[Evangeline Irvine]

Sam told her to look closer, and so, thinking he'd probably found some sort of shell or fish of some description, Eva leaned over and eyed the water avidly. It took her a moment to pick up on the smugness rolling off Sam, and before she could so much as look at him he'd pushed her into the water. She came up, drenched and spluttering, and watched with her mouth hanging open in amused shock as he sprinted down the beach.

Hastily getting to her feet she pelted after him, not caring how much she looked like a drowned cat. When she screamed after him, it came out as more of a laugh. "You are so lucky I'm not wearing a white shirt, Sam, or you'd be absolutely dead!" As if karma had allowed it, he was suddenly tripped up on his own feet--and as if it had heard her snickering at him, her foot caught on his leg and caused her to crash to the ground next to him.

The tide rolled up the sand and splashed over them then, and Eva yelped, springing to her feet. Then, swallowing a laugh, she held a hand out to Sam in order to help him up. "I think this calls for more lying in the sand, don't you? I'm not sure about your grandparents, but I know Louise would freak if I can back to the house soaking wet. Unless, of course, you wanted to swim for a bit first? I mean, we're already drenched..."

[Sam O'Connor]

It appeared some divine force had decided that Sam wasn't the only one who deserved to face plant into the sand, as Eva did too, tripping over his leg which caused a sharp pain in his shin. "Ooo-OOooo-Oooh," he stuttered in pain through the laughter. He was greeted by a mouthful of water as the tide soaked him through from head to toe. Spluttering, he wiped the water from his face, then saw Eva's hand come into view.

Taking it, he clambered onto his feet, another wave splashing around their ankles. "Thanks," he said, feeling like nature had severly punished him for his trickery. "Lying in the sand sounds good," he said with a nod, shaking the water from his hair, getting her a bit more wet in the process. With a wide grin, he took a few steps up the beach and collapsed, closing his eyes upon impact. "No more pranking for me," he said, although, that resolution wouldn't last long.

The sun here was so warm, he could feel himself drying off already, his clothes would take a while longer, enough time for them to have a chat before he or she had to be getting back. "If you could go anywhere," he said, his eyes still closed, "no matter how much it cost or how difficult it was to get to, where would you go?"

[Evangeline Irvine]

Once Sam had collapsed onto the drier sand further up the beach, Eva was quick to follow. Again she noted that it would take quite the shower to get all the sand and salt out of her hair after all this, but, yet again, she let it go. Who cared about countenance, really? Usually she didn't--so why did she keep thinking on it now? She snorted when Sam claimed he was done pranking for the day, reaching over to pat his arm in a sure-sure manner.

Bringing her hand back to her side, she let her eyes fall closed again and heaved a deep sigh, feeling almost like she was trying to drag the air all the way down to her toes before blowing it all out. After a few minutes, Sam spoke again, asking her about where she'd like to go if she could. She thought silently for a moment. "That's a tough question," she said at last.

"There are so many things in the world I want to see--the volcanoes on Proxy 5, the Great Wall of China, the prairie-lands in Canada, and Niagara falls back on earth..." she trailed off, exaggerating the endless possibilities. "But... I think what I really want to see are mountains. The natural beauty of a planet's surface, pushing up toward the sky, reaching so high that you can't see the tops."

Eva let herself picture it for a moment, smiling. "What about you?" she asked at last, doodling lazily in the sand with her fingertips. "Where would you like to go?"

[Sam O'Connor]

Slowly but surely, Sam could feel himself drying off; his t-shirt, which had been clinging tightly to his body, was now shifting gently with the breeze, his board shorts tickling his knees. It didn't really matter how bedraggled looking he turned up at the beach house later, his Nan would just shove him in the shower and assume he had been pratting about, playing in the ocean. Maybe he would tell them about Eva, maybe not, especially if there wasn't any hope of seeing her again on this trip. He didn't want to get their hopes up, and by extension, his too.

He listened intently as she said that she wanted to visit the mountains someday. He had noticed that it was quite flat around these parts. He didn't know if the land was hillier anywhere else on the planet. "Mountains are great, he nodded, "maybe not so much when you're climbing them, that can be tiring. You should hear the amount my grandparents huff and puff going up those things," he snickered. "Actually, there's quite a lot of big hills and mountains not too far from where I live," distance wasn't relative to him yet, he had no idea exactly how far away they were, "you should visit sometime, we could take you there."

"Hmmm," he stroked his chin like he had an imaginary beard there, "I keep thinking I'd like to go to Ilosia at some point, the planet where my Mum was from. Not to find her mind," he let out a huff and a 'bleh' sound, "but just to see what it was like. I was a baby when my Uncle collected me and brought me back to my Grandparents, so I don't remember anything of it. I think it would be cool to see all the crazy stuff that they have there. Like the red sea that's really red, or the upside-down mountain ranges, like caves in the ground that have snow at the bottom it's so cold down there." It all sounded crazy, and he didn't know if any of it was actually true, but he wanted to see for himself.

"Thinking about it," he said, "this is probably the best place I've been to so far," he grinned, "for many reasons."

[Evangeline Irvine]

When Sam spoke of the mountains near where he lived, Eva's mouth curved into a small smile. It was sweet of him to offer her the chance to see them with him someday, even if it wasn't likely. She couldn't see Louise letting her off-planet for a good few years yet at least. Which was part of why she admired Sam's next words. There was no fear in him when he considered going to a strange new planet--he'd already done so, considering he was from Earth but was currently here on Beta Cygni.

"Sounds a little iffy to me," she laughed, "But regardless, I can see why going there would be intriguing to you. It sounds like a neat place. Never heard of caves filling with snow before, and seeing an actual red sea would be amazing." His next comment made her grin in response, and she sat up in order to reach over and push his shoulder once.

"Yeah, I can see why. Rolling white beaches, sparkling blue waters, milk and cookies in a high-end estate and surviving a life-threatening experience. What's not to love?" Pulling her hair over one shoulder, Eva untangled it with her fingers as best she could before splitting it into three parts and weaving it into a braid, unearthing a hair-tie from her pocket to fasten it.

"So," she said upon finishing, flicking the plait back over her shoulder. "On an unrelated note, how long is it before you have to be off back to Earth?" Maybe, if he was going to be here for a while, they could hang out like this again sometime.

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam shrugged his shoulders lightly. He was a young boy, danger and fear were concepts not fully grasped, or if they were, he ignored them in the pursuit of fun and adventure. He had to keep skinny somehow, right? "It sounds like something from a book or something," he commented, "but apparently it's real. I bet there's a whole bunch of other crazy stuff on planets all over the Universe, things we can't even begin to imagine."

He grinned when she shoved his shoulder, glancing over at her as she played with her hair. "Well, yeah, all that," he agreed, "but you forgot one important thing, of course." He raised his eyebrows slightly as she merely looked at him, "you." He was really glad he'd met Eva. Honestly, he'd been expecting another day playing by himself, missing his friends back home, but making the best of it. But today had turned out to be awesome, and he doubted it would have been the same if she hadn't come out of the house and caught him sneaking into the grounds.

"I'm here for the rest of the week," he said, "so another five days. We head back to Earth on Saturday, then it's back to school on Monday." He pulled a face. He wasn't stupid, far from it, but academia didn't really interest him all that much. He found things like cooking, arts, and sports much more interesting and exciting. "I suppose it'll be hard to convince Louise to let you out like this again, won't it?" he said, looking a little forlorn.

[Evangeline Irvine]

Eva hummed in agreement when Sam acknowledged the endlessness to the mysteries of the universes. "I wonder if it's possible to see everything there is to see in one life time?" She really doubted it, but imagining that one could was intriguing. Mountains, snow in caves, red seas, black holes... she sighed, wondering if she'd ever see any of it, or if she'd be stuck on Beta Cygni for the rest of her life.

"Aw, I'm flattered," she giggled when he said that meeting her had been a good part of this trip, smirking at him. In truth, though, she actually was quite touched. It was quite sweet of him to say; she wasn't entirely sure it was candid, but it was sweet regardless. Flopping back onto the sand, she listened to him as he answered her question and shrugged at the inquiry he shot back at her.

"It's debatable, really," she admitted. "Louise tends to be strict, but every now and then I can persuade her to let me out. Getting to the beach may not be easy, but I should be able to swing it every now and again. Though I don't know how often I'll be able to do it while you're still here. I can try, though." After a moment, she added, "If you want me to, of course." She wouldn't want to intrude on his vacation if she wasn't invited to.

[Sam O'Connor]

"Not unless you lived to be VERY old," Sam said, stretching a little as he put his hands behind his head, and yawned widely. He'd have to be getting back soon, if his Grandparents didn't call for him first. He would stretch this out for as long as possible, just in case they didn't get the chance to see each other again while he was here. Maybe he could suggest to his Grandparents that he liked this place so much they should come back again next year.

He grinned when she said she was flattered. "And so you should be," he smirked, glancing across at her, before averting his eyes back to the cloudless sky. The weather here was weird, here at the coast at least, it was like it never changed. He looked at her again when she said "If you want me to of course." "Of course I want you to," he said earnestly with a nod, "you don't need to be polite with me. I'll see you whenever. Even if it's just after I wake up. I'll warn you though, the extent of the bed head might frighten you."

A shout of "SAMUEL!" in a thick Irish accent pierced the air, and Sam craned his neck round to see his Grandpa standing a few hundred feet away, waving him over. "Bah shucks," he said, "I have to go." Staying where he was for a moment, he reached over and squeezed Eva's hand, "thanks for today, it was fun," he grinned at her, "see you later." Quickly hopping up onto his feet, and skittered off down the beach towards his Grandpa. He didn't know that he wouldn't see Eva again for a very long time.