ka pikinika - picnic

Turns out, Rosalind's "chill day" idea before jumping out of a plane and risking everyone's lives tomorrow is actually pretty nice. The sun is shining, there's not a cloud in the sky, and the food isn't half bad either.

"Another strawberry?" Claire asks Emerson, holding it up for him, the tip covered in chocolate.

He holds up a hand before patting his stomach, "Nope, I'm good. I've already had one too many sandwiches."

She shrugs, "Suit yourself." Bringing the berry to her lips, she bites into it hungrily before giving him a satisfied smile. He chuckles, shaking his head.

"Rosalind makes a mean club sandwich, that's for sure." Rhyme speaks through a mouthful of bread, meat, cheese, and other assorted ingredients.

"I didn't mind watching her do it either." Alex shrugs, taking a swig of the Coca Cola in his can.

Rhyme laughs at this, his own eyes locking into Rosalind as she sits near the edge of the small cliff, long grass and wildflowers surrounding her. "Yeah Rosalind is great."

"Don't tell me you're in love with her too." Emerson smirks as she cracks open a can of lemonade.

His red headed friend gives him an unamused look, a splotch of mayonnaise on the corner of his lips as he swallows. "Please." He mumbles, "Rosalind is beautiful and all but she scares me."

"What?" Emerson laughs at him, watching as Rosalind covers her mouth, throwing her head back as Gwen tells a story with her hands flying dramatically, "Scary how?"

Rhyme pauses, thinking, while Alex watches him with a judgmental stare. "Scary in the way that she intimidates me. There's something she's hiding and it's unnerving yet dangerous. I don't know whether to love it or fear it." He sighs to himself, shaking his head.

Emerson and Alex exchange a glance. "You think she's hiding something?" Emerson asks lowly.

"Yeah right." Alex scoffs, leaning back on his hands as he looks out at the water below, "Rosalind is as innocent as they come. Trust me."

"It's not about being innocent." Rhyme shrugs, "I just think there's more to her than a traveling tour guide. How could she possibly afford the motorcycle and Jeep? Plus insurance?" He raises his brows before whistling lowly.

Emerson narrows his eyes, "What, so you think she's a thief? That's a little far fetched, don't you think?" He finds it hard to imagine Rosalind with her blonde hair tucked into a ski mask and willingly taking from others.

"Yeah I agree." Alex mumbles.

"That's because you have the hots for her." Rhyme gives him a blank stare, "But I'm not saying she's a thief. I'm just inclined to say that she's not your average girl and my interest is peeked."

"You make that sound so weird." Emerson furrows his brows, grabbing a cookie from the container Rosalind set out. He wonders for a moment how much money she spent on this lunch. Then he wonders how much they're paying her.

"Yeah but you know me. I love a good mystery." Rhyme winks, taking a sip of his water and staying ahead at the subject of conversation, her head turning to see all of the guys looking her way. Giving them a weird look, she laughs at their odd behavior and looks away.

"Yep." Emerson sighs sarcastically, "That's definitely the face of a hard criminal."

ⅼ  ❝ i'm begging you to just think about what you're doing and stop aching for the things that hurt you. ❞ ⅼ

After finishing lunch and having nothing to do, Rosalind invites Emerson and his group of friends to her place. Emerson feels awkward as Alex eagerly agrees and even more so when they pull up to a canal with rows and rows of boats.

"You live on a boat?" Gwen's lips part in awe as they all walk down the dock, their feet making noise as they go.

"Yeah I have ever since I moved here. I love the ocean and I hate being in a stuffy house or apartment so I figured this would be the next best thing." Rosalind grins, stopping at a small boat painted white and lined with dark stained wood. The paint worn a little from the salty air.

Following everyone and falling back to the end of the line, Emerson steps onto the boat and looks around, running his hand along the railing. "This is cool." He comments, stopping next to Rosalind as she looks out at the water, her hat now off and hanging on the belt loop of her shorts. Her hair blows behind her while the sun beats down on her tanned skin.

"Thanks." She chirps, squinting up at him, "You know, you're pretty tall." She comments suddenly with a smile.

He chuckles, "Six foot one in case you're wondering." The words feel weird and awkward in my mouth and he instantly regrets it, feeling oddly boastful.

She presses her lips together in an impressed smile as she nods, "Nice. I'm five foot seven. seven and a half if my hair is in a bun." She jokes, making him feel better.

"Cool." He laughs, watching as she looks away towards the sound of a loud horn.

"Alex." She hisses before stepping away and looking at Emerson with an apologetic wince, "Excuse me."

"Yeah, of course." He waves it off as no big deal, waiting for her to jog off towards the noise before turning back to the water with a soft smile.

A few hours pass filled with laughter and old high school stories before the sun sets proudly behind the sea, everyone feeling confident that it's been a well lived day.

As the stars begin to wake up the sky, Emerson watches the moon shine through the remaining clouds, a small smile on his lips when he notices how round and full it's becoming in the passing nights.

"Who's up for a small fire?" Rosalind asks the group, "I have a contained fire pit I could break out. It's kind of against the rules but no one around here tells on me." She chuckles, her cheeks turning a slight hue of pink.

"Our lips are sealed." Rhyme grins, "Break out the fire pit, my dude."

Rosalind laughs loudly, nodding. "Okay sounds good. Think you could maybe give me a hand? It's down in my quarters."

"Why?" Alex asks her, brows furrowed.

She shrugs, "I get worried someone will steal it, i don't know." After finishing her sentence, she waved for Rhyme to follow her down the stairs and he wonders slowly behind her, giving Alex a smug smirk.

Alex rolls his eyes, huffing in annoyance that he wasn't chosen to accompany her. Emerson thinks to himself about all of the many good reasons she should not let him anywhere near her in close quarters. One being that he has no doubt he'd try to kiss her and mess up the entire group's dynamic. Another being that his weird obsession with her would most definitely make her uncomfortable.

Once the two of them are gone, Claire gives Alex an amused look and a chuckle, "You look pretty happy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alex mocks with a sarcastic scowl.

She gives him a blank stare as if she can't believe he's playing dumb. "Just because I'm sitting here quietly, that doesn't mean I'm unhappy." He snorts.

"Does reacting badly to a joke mean you're unhappy?" Gwen smiles innocently at him, her legs thrown over Isaac's lap as she sits sideways in the lawn hair Rosalind provided.

"You're hilarious." Alex deadpans, "You should open your own open comedy bar. It'll fail within the first two years and then I'll have my revenge for this very moment where you irked me deeply."

Gwen scoffs, "You're annoying."

"Bite me."

"Gross." She rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. Her annoyance suddenly fades from her face when Isaac's hand begins rubbing the arch of her foot, his other hand holding his phone as he plays a game distractedly.

"Calm down, babe." Apparently that's all he has to say because Gwen gives Alex one last glare before smiling softly and closing her eyes, leaning her head onto the back of the chair."

"I can't tell whether you two are cute or just straight up weird." Emerson comments, leaning back in his own seat.

Isaac looks up from his phone, locking it and setting it down on his thigh as he bounces it up and down, "I sense some hard jealousy." He jokes with a smile.

Emerson shakes his head, rolling his eyes. "Please."

"Now that I think about it, I don't remember the last time you had a girlfriend." Alex chimes in, seeming happy to have the uncomfortable stares of all of his close friends on someone else but himself.

Emerson begins to feel squeamish, his thumb tapping the arm rest of his chair. "So?"

"So maybe it's time to make a move." Gwen shrugs, eyes still closed.

"There must be someone you could see yourself with." Claire says, pulling her knees up to her chest to rest her chin on them comfortably.

"What about my cousin Wendy?" Isaac asks him with raised brows.

Emerson laughs, "She's nice and all but she still plays with Barbies. That's just a little odd."

"Don't judge her. I mean, hey, we've all seen Welcome To Marwen." Alex chuckles, finding this all too amusing.

"Still not normal." Emerson shrugs, "And I'm pretty sure she also hates me."

"Why would you say that?" Isaac asks, confused.

"Because the last time I saw her, in eighth grade, I made a comment about her Barbie car and she punched me in the throat and said she hated me." Emerson deadpans, "So I'm also a little afraid of her for good reason."

Gwen laughs loudly, lifting up her head. "That's the best thing I've heard all day."

"Thanks." He rolls his eyes, "Geez, how long does it take to grab a fire pit." He sighs, feeling anxious for Rhyme to come and save him from this nightmare.

Alex shifts in his seat. "Seriously though, Frat Boy. I don't remember you ever even kissing a girl."

"Shut up." Emerson bites angrily, covering up his embarrassment with a heated expression.

Alex holds up his hands in surrender, "Okay I'll let it go."

Right on time, Emerson's hears two pairs of footsteps and soon Rhyme pops up from the staircase holding the beloved fire pit, Rosalind close on his heels. She seems to have changed, now wearing a pair of soft cotton shorts and a band tee, her blonde hair up in a ponytail. Emerson finds it odd to see her without her baseball cap.

"Hey, what about Rosalind?" Isaac grins slowly, knowing very well of the trouble he's about to cause.

Eyes widening, Emerson gives him a look and shakes his head. Stop he attempts to signal but Isaac will not be stopped.

"Yeah, she'd be perfect. The right height, she's funny, and she's adventurous. Those qualities are very much needed in this case." He holds up an index finger as Emerson presses his own fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"What exactly am I perfect for?" Rosalind laughs, taking a seat across from Emerson directly beside Claire who gives her a pity smile.

"Nothing." Emerson says, giving Isaac another sharp look.

"Yeah it's definitely nothing." Alex seethes as be looks at his brother angrily, "Right, Isaac?"

Isaac hesitates, clearly debating with himself whether it's worth it to tease Emerson and infuriate his older brother any further. After a few seconds, he nods. "Yeah I was just talking about this guy back home who really needs a girlfriend. I thought you might be a good model candidate on what we need to be looking for."

Rosalind chuckles, thankfully finding the amusing. "Well I'll keep my eye out for any good options for him. What's he like? Maybe I know someone who would be interested."

Alex looks over at Emerson, giving him a glare. Emerson gives him a frustrated look before running a hand through his hair. "I don't think that's necessary. He would be pretty upset if he knew we had talked to someone else about it. He's a very private person." He exaggerates his words as he looks at Isaac warningly.

Isaac ignores him completely and responds, "Well...I'd say he's a pretty attractive guy if you like tall, smart, and respectful men. He's kind of shy but, once you get to know him, he can make you laugh until milk comes out your nose. He also likes long walks on the beach, romantic late night conversations, and hates white bread." He jokes lightly with a toothy smile, his brown eyes meeting Emerson's with deep amusement.

Relief pours over him when Rosalind doesn't seem to realize who he really speaks of, a laugh emitting from her full lips. "He sounds like a real catch. I could put up with someone tall, smart, and respectful myself." She chuckles once again, Emerson's stomach flipping slightly, "I'll let you know if I think of someone who'd be willing to do long distance."

"Yeah that'll be tough." Isaac sighs as Alex clenches his fists subtly, clearly upset. Emerson doesn't feel surprised by this. When Alex has his eyes set on something, or in this case someone, he tends to get very territorial. This isn't exactly an attractive quality but Alex doesn't like to hear that.

"What's his name?" Rosalind asks as she watches Rhyme wordlessly do his best to start a fire in the middle of the circle they've created with the chairs. Emerson watches closely as he smirks to himself, completely silent. So much for having his help on this.

"Uh..." Isaac looks briefly at Emerson but he just gives him a blank stare, knowing at this point that he's pretty much helpless to what's happening. "Peter."

"Really?" Rosalind asks.

"Yep." Isaac sighs, sad that his fun is over.

"Oh." She replies, "Cool. So who wants hotdogs? I have a whole pack that's been sitting in my fridge. I'm not a huge fan of them but one of my neighbors gave them to me a couple days ago and I couldn't bring myself to eat them." She laughs.

"I'm down." Rhyme finally speaks up before the rest of the group nods in agreement.

"Emerson." Rosalind stands up, pulling her shorts down subtly. "Can you help me grab some more drinks?"

"Sure..." He stands up slowly, ignoring the glare coming from Alex. It's honestly getting pretty annoying how intense his obsessive crush is becoming and Emerson makes a mental note to talk with him about it later.

Following Rosalind down the steps, Emerson looks around the practically bare cabin. A small couch sits in the middle of the room facing a medium sized television, bed bedroom on the left just beside one of the kitchen cabinets.

"Nice place." He comments, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Very minimalistic."

"Thanks. My bedroom is what's cluttered so you might not want to go in there. I heard you have OCD so I don't want to make you uncomfortable." She smiles, grabbing a pack of hotdogs from the small fridge. "The drinks are in the cooler over there." She points.

"Oh. Right." He chuckles, walking over and taking a few things he thinks they might need.

As they walk back up the stairs, Rosalind turns around, causing him to nearly run into her.

"Woah." He stops suddenly.

"I was just wondering," She cocks her head to the side as he looks at her expectantly, "if I should call you Emerson or Peter from now on because there seems to be a bit of confusion on the subject." Her lips perk into a teasing smile as his cheeks redden.

He looks away groaning, "I swear I had nothing to do with that. They all think I don't date enough."

She shrugs, "It's alright. And don't listen to them, none of them realize how hard it really is to find someone you don't end up hating in the end." Her blue eyes look down, eyelashes closing like curtains as she stares at her bare feet.

He watches her with curiosity, wondering who hurt her. An off and random feeling of anger twists in his gut. "Well, whoever you hate, I hate them too."

She looks up, smiling a little. "Thanks, Peter."

"Alright." He sighs, "Keep moving, we don't want Alex to attack me or anything."

"As you wish." She chuckles, continuing up the stares.

Emerson watches her ascend the stares, a faint grin spread across his features as the wonder and curiously surrounding this girl seems to widen more and more for him each day.