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Though the pinkie promise had been an important part of the promise, to have it superseded by a hand over the heart was well enough. Abbi awwww'd for Ripley and almost hugged him because that felt the thing to do, but there was climbing to be done instead so she settled on that instead.
Now that she was on the rock and feeling nervous, and even more woozy than she was down below, the teen shifted just enough over to give Ripley room to pull himself up. She waited about two whole seconds for him to get settled before she moved back over, pressing herself to his side and wrapped both arms around the one closest to her.
"Its so high up wow I just didn't expect to climb and wow I'm a little... Not all there? I'm really fuzzy I can't explain it I just wow its weird have you ever been drunk before?" Had he said he drank? Abbi couldn't seem to remember, not now when she was up on the rock and right there next to him and ooohh he was warm she was kind of chilly...

After a few seconds of sitting that felt much longer than seconds, Abbi finally sighed as she looked out of what she could see of the ocean. Why had she wanted to come to the beach again?
Trying to think it over, she finally settled back and turned her gaze up to Ripley.
"Is uh... Is your neck ok?" She pointed at the bandages the circled his throat, her expression softening to concern. That had been a terrible time, the wake up in the hospital bad enough to still leave a sour taste in her mouth.
As though it would make him feel better, the girl let go of his arm to offer up a leg, leaning back a little to toss the leg over his and pull down one thigh high sock.
"Mine are almost healed! Sorta... They're prolly gonna scar... Which sucks but its not the first." She huffed a sigh and left her leg on him.

"Oh! OH ok yeah you uh--" The sentence came to a mild halt as she um'd and uh'd at him for a second having realized belatedly that she was about to demand something. "If um you want... I'd be uh interested to hear about... About you! I-if you... yanno... if you want..."
That was... Not demanding right?! That was ok that would be what it took to get Ripley to tell her about himself right?! Please say yes Ripley, Abbi was giving you her biggest and most hopeful puppy dog eyes.

Not that high, said the taller than her dude who could fall from this and totally be perfectly alright without a scratch. But if Abbi fell, well firstly her poor legs couldn't handle it and secondly she was kind of tiny. It would still hurt... But she said nothing in reply for nothing seemed important enough, not compared to other things. Like the other questions Ripley asked.
"Is several like... More than a lot?" That was a poorly phrased question that Abbi meant to be closer to something like 'Is several closer to fifty or one hundred times?', but since she was very muddy in her own mind, she didn't correct herself. Instead she nodded against his arm. "Yeeaahhhh. I never went to parties and Dad didn't even really let me have champagne on New Year's. Natalie did. Natalie is cool." Surely the teen had spoken of her step-mother to the man before. She didn't really bother hoping she had, just let herself wander aimlessly on in her thoughts.
For a moment she frowned up at his bandages and leaned a little closer to them as though to inspect them or place a soft bit of affection against them or even just pretend to do either of those. But the teen only sighed and leaned back. Maybe she didn't want to talk about that anymore.

Even if they were not in the dark, Abbi wasn't particularly paying attention to Ripley's face or what it might be betraying at the moment. Instead she kept pulling the sock down to expose more leg, poking lightly at the bandages that still remained. For a moment she looked at her skin before she sighed. With a wry smile she turned back to him and shrugged.
"Guess I can't really avoid this topic forever, huh?" She laughed softly and left her leg on him, pointing to a thin pucker of skin that had been covered with a bandaid last time Ripley had seen her uncovered leg. She wiggled her leg higher up on his to help him see it, the wiggling causing her shoe to fall off but she didn't mind. Might as well take the sock off too while she was at it.
"This is top secret stuff, ok? I haven't told like... Anybody." At least not anyone on the Island who wasn't already inside her head.
Why was she telling him anyways? This was really top secret stuff, this was game changer stuff, this was not something to tell the guy who had just scolded you and wished you hadn't had another drink... But Abbi still felt herself taking a breath.

"I was uh... In a car accident when I was seven. It was... Um... Really bad." And that felt way too much to tell him, so she just hurried on to her point. Which wasssss oh right! "I was in the... The front passenger seat. Cause yanno, seven, not gonna like drive or whatever ha ha..." Her laughter felt forced and now she wished she hadn't said anything. The panicked part of her thought she could just jump off the rock and run back to her room, but the part of her that was cold and liked sitting this close to Ripley forced her to stay.
"I don't really... Remember... A lot of it... But uh, yeah I just... The windshield or one of the windows popped and... Got me pretty good." This was the worst idea ever ever ever.
"I think I was wearing a sweater with shorts which is why only my legs got it... I can't uh... I can't really remember small stuff like that."

Aaaaaand ok good she was done. With a squeak she pressed her face into Ripley's bicep to signal that she really didn't want to talk about this anymore. Especially since there was more to that story than what she'd given. Thankfully he indulged her with some information about himself which had the teen peeking up at him.
"Lots of woods? Do you like the woods? Is that where your family is from too?" She couldn't help but find her curiosity all the more sparked when he provided such wonderful kindling. "The smell of apples? What about mixed with cinnamon?" What did apples smell like anyways besides fresh and sweet? Abbi wasn't so sure, but her foggy mind snatched onto that and held tight. She would remember apples in the morning, for sure!

As for the carpet and the drapes....
"You sureeee? Cause in about four weeks I'm gonna find out one way or the other." She smiled and wiggled a finger at him. "But you owe me a secret! A good one! You know what color my eyes are and how I got my scars... The old ones, not the new ones stupid acid bug."

Really, it was entirely lucky that Ripley was beginning to figure out how the girl worked, otherwise she would be in quite a lot of trouble given her less than eloquent questions. But as for the clarification of 'more than a lot', Abbi only gave the man a soft nod. His strange, emotional way of speaking alerted the girl to something, but she wasn't sure exactly what and instead leaned back in to give him an inquisitive gaze. It wasn't very good, for she quickly settled back to a mostly right position, still swaying every so often.
Part of her was glad he hadn't asked after Natalie, especially given the conversation that followed, but even if he had asked, that was one of the few people Abbi didn't mind talking about. But that particular conversation topic was spared, along with any mention of the man moving away due to his neck sensitivity, by simple aversion. If one of them failed to bring it up, it was by passed and quickly forgotten. Perhaps more so in Abbi's case as her brain was doing its best to hurry along its typical thought processes while also sluggishly plowing through the ones she felt necessary to complete. The world was beginning to get every so slightly topsy turvy, the left edge of her horizon starting to tilt a bit...

The promise of keeping the secret was nice, but something Abbi still felt a little futile given she was airing it at all. But there was little said of her secret, a small offering of apology, something Abbi had always found useless for it never changed anything but something she always appreciated nonetheless. It was even something she herself indulged in from time to time, even if she knew it altered nothing, but it was still a sentiment accepted. What is more telling, or what she notices more, is the hand on her knee. Well, the cloth covered hand.
That was still warm, still comforting even if now the sensation was strangely heightened for a reason she didn't understand besides attributing it to drinking. Though the hand on her was soft, hardly there, Abbi felt no reserve in curling her leg just enough to push her knee up into his palm just a little more. It was there after all, why not?
"S'ok..." She finally mumbled, her voice softer and more unhinged than she intended for it to be. Glad to move away from this topic, the girl curled up her other leg to its sister and let herself fall closer into his side. The hand on her hip made her heart do something funny, but it was also weighed down by the tragedy she'd never been able to let go of and the warmth Ripley provided, both physically and emotionally, was a sweet balm.
"You can... Ask or whatever... I um... Can't say no to you." That was truer than she'd expected it to be.

"So cinnamon rolls are out?" Strangely, Abbi found herself laughing too. It was soft, her cheek worming its way to rest against what part of his chest she could reach. "Woooooow. Three generations is a lot... Were you gonna stay there too?" Always with the questions, always wanting to know more than was given.
Surprise colored her face when he considered a secret, the teen turning her face up to his. But there was little cuddling left to do as the hand that had been holding her moved back between them and Abbi reluctantly let off him. The gloves had been something she had always wanted to ask after, but never wanted to bother him with, so to watch him remove them... It felt far more momentous than her showing her scars.
A tiny noise left her to see his own scars, dulled by the lack of light but still there.
"M'sorry" She mumbled quickly, leaning down closer to his open palms. His story was far worse than her's, for even if he hadn't said it, Abbi knew he'd lost people too. ""I'm... I'm... so so sorry."

With a small sigh, she rose a hand to touch a gentle finger in the center of his palm, hesitant and sure to give him time to move away. But if he did not refuse her, he would soon have four fingertips gently resting along what was supposed to be gentle lines of his palm, not jagged scars.
"Did... Did you see anything?" She asked in a whisper, her other hand finding his other as though covering the scars with her own skin could make it better.
"Because I did... It was... Terrible." What she saw was worse, nothing she really wanted to talk about, but would if he asked.
Maybe it was the drinks or the conversation, but she let her head fall against his shoulder.
"I think I wanna go to my room..." For a moment she pouted before she looked up at him again, her eyes a little glassier than she wanted. "You'll come too... Right?"

The squeeze is appreciated, even if it does make her heart do that funny thing again and cause her to feel all tingly suddenly. Its not an unwelcome feeling, but it is edged with caution for it means showing him scars that were previously hidden. The new ones that are forming aren't so bad, Abbi has no problem hiding them as she had hid the first ones so why not these too. But now someone has seen, someone she considers important and who is making her heart do something strange and that feels significant even if she can't deduce why in her current state.
"Very dangerous." She slurs with a furrow of brows, recalling something Nevada told her about being careful. But careful about what, exactly? That is superfluous at the moment so the teen looks up at him once more.
"OK s'like... Cinnamon rolls r'not s'good... Whatabout... Apple crisps? Apple pie?" Did she know other apple dishes? Was she seriously considering finding apples to give him one each day? Of course she was, but further distraction comes with more words.
"Where did... Did you want to live?" She had wanted to live somewhere else too, somewhere where no one had ever even heard of her. And now she had that...

Another squeeze comes, but this one is on her hands and she's struck with an odd want to display some sort of affection toward the man other than just holding his hand. He's been so kind to her, no matter her childish antics and has suffered so much, but Abbi cannot think of anything. Every thing she does think of feels too much, feels too frightening to consider so instead she must settle for giving a small return pressure to his hand before they are pulled from her own. The gloves are back and she turns a tilted mouth up to him.
"If you... Ever want or whatever... Y'don't... Have to hide... From me, yanno?" Maybe it was futile to say, but at least she'd said it.
"'Course I want ya to... I wouldn't have... Have asked otherwise!" Wow, when did talking become this hard? Was it because she felt so sad and down?
With a pout she sat very still and watched Ripley move off the rock, regretting ever saying she would sit her with him. Needing something to do she fiddled with the hood still on her head, tweaking one of the ears before she settled it back to rights. OK. Just... Slid off the rock into his arms, right? That was easy....
Except it totally wasn't when the world was starting to spin.

Maybe she should have turned around to hang onto the rock, but Abbi could not for the life of her think straight so instead she just kid of wiggled forward until she could reach down to take his hands.
"I think m'doing this wrong..." She mumbled, still pouting. Was he strong enough to pull her down by her hands? Probably not, so very, very carefully she slid her hands down to his elbows, about to slid off the rock. Um um uuuummmmmm...... Halp?
"Do I jump? Will you catch me? Will your abs I never got to see help?" Always with the important questions.

"Wooooow. Apples... OK. Cool." Man, he was all about apples. Getting more off kilter and further from her own mind by the minute she hung onto that idea, trying to wedge into a place in her head where it would stick until morning but mildly worried that it wouldn't. In an odd attempt, Abbi did try to barter with Viveca to hold onto the pertinent information, but it seemed the weapon had since gone to sleep. Or was sulking off in the little corner the teen like to think belonged to her weapon. This was all, of course, odd conjecture that probably wouldn't make sense come morning but for now she turned a pout at Ripley.
"You're vurrah secretive." She slurred at him as she slid down to the ground, feet touching sand and one sinking slightly further down without her shoe on. She had also somehow managed to slide her sock all the way off and stuff it into the pocket on her stomach, glad that hoodies came with such large stowaway compartments.
"If I didn't know any better... I might think you were..." She took an enormously long pause to sway to one side and give him a pointed look before she continued. "....Up to something..."

{ That didn't even make any sense. }
"Hey you're awake!" Whoops, that had slipped through the filter removed from head to mouth, a rookie mistake she had managed to avoid lately. "Surrah... Sorry... Viveca is... Not pleased with me. She does.. Not condone my..... Antics." The swaying continued until Abbi just fell forward to rest on the man's chest.
Wow, this was a nice chest. It was like... A really, awesome chest with a suit over it oh hello suit.
"Did I tell you the suit was nice? Cause I like it. A lot." Surely she hadn't mentioned that before!
"But I'm serrrrrrrious about.... Yanno... Tha'gloves." One leg bent and knocked against his to then awkwardly wiggle against what she thought to be his knee.
"I won't hide mine if... Ya don't hide yours."

And then he was staring at her.
Sudden clarity broke through Abbi's haze enough to notice him staring, first looking up at his eyes and finding wow those were some eyes, like wow they looked golden wow 11/10 eyes. The eyebrows threw her off a little, for why did he look so confused? It was like he had forgotten something or like he was stunned except why should he be stunned she didn't do anything stun worthy or--
But the longer he stares the more she gets confused, and above that she is scared. That look, even confused, is so focused on her that she is frightened of what it might mean. For a second she stares back and things slow down, but her brain kickstarts a moment later. This isn't the right heart event, he shouldn't be giving her looks like that when she has only just discovered what his favorite food is and she doesn't know anything about him and there's this odd little flutter of her heart that she doesn't want to face. Its too hopeful, it packs too much of a punch and startled, Abbi moves back in a clumsy attempt that only nets her tripping over her own feet, flushed and frightened and hating that she's only now figuring out what she wants.

"Private ish more fun if ya invite certain people in." That didn't make any sense. Actually, she wasn't at all sure why she said besides that seemed the thing to do. Maybe she should stop talking, maybe that would be better. Except, well--
"YOU'VE SEEN HARRY POTTER OMIGOSH REALLY OK OK WOW OK WOW OHMIGOSH WOW OK SO WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE?!" No you don't understand, this was very a important thing they had to discuss right now. Like, right now.
So right now that Abbi leaned forward in a wobbly manner to stare at Ripley with wide, imploring purple eyes.

The scolding makes her wrinkle her nose in disdain, sighing that she accompanies with a well practiced roll of eyes. She'd come to Deus to live a little, not to get told how to live her life. The fact that it might be bad because of the honest dangers on the Island totally slipped her mind, which only meant she felt all the more at ease to feel vindicated in what she had had to drink.
"Are ya sure? Its a great suit... Do ya have lotsa suits? Cause of the job and all right?" Why had he brought his suits along with him? Well, if they all looked this nice she wasn't going to say anything bad about them.
"You said my name! Oh uh whoops..." Well, that was one stocking already off so why not? Her foot wiggled into her shoe and the sock in her pocket was forgotten immediately as she hobbled away, dipping dangerously close to the ground with a throw out of both arms that netted her no additional balance. The grip of his hand on her elbow steadied her, but as pointedly as he ignored her face, she too did the same for him. Teeth worried on her lower lip, the arm not in his grasp bent so that her thumb could push against the pucker of mouth that created. After being lead away, the hand dropped to once against stick out in the air to keep herself steady, and the teen felt no reserve in her mumbling.
"I bet whoever it was tha'mentioned your abs before was... Really cute." If that had been an attempt at a jab, it was poorly delivered but Abbi was quiet after that, following his lead with her head tilted down.

Even if he ignored that particular train of conversation, Abbi wouldn't at all realize simply because she was toasty enough to be running at least three tracks in her minds right now and one of them was fully occupied with trying to walk. The other two were wholly devoted to Harry Potter talk with Ripley right now wow.
"Woooow really?! Snape was your favorite? Woooooow. That's really interesting." A hand tapped against her cheek in a showy manner before she grinned up at him. "Was it the love for a cute ginger that did it for ya or the whole stickin' to the rules thing?" So maybe she was mildly trying to make a joke or a subtle hint he would never know.
"My favorite was Ginny. And Hermione. She was awesome and good at school and stuff." Here she tripped on her feet again, swaying into his shoulder to look up at him.
"A Hufflepuff? Are you serious? No one good is in Hufflepuff..." How could he ever be so cruel? But whatever sad look she had hoped to give him is curbed by how happy he looks, her cheeks flushing of their own accord and a small smile of her own coaxed out in reply.

A small sigh, something disappointed to hear of only two suits, left her and she once more leaned against his shoulder. It was a good shoulder, a nice accompaniment to that nice chest and nice eyes.
"Only two? Don't guys who like... wear lotsa suits have like... A bunch?" This was important information, right? "Do ya like... Have a suit size?" No she wasn't asking for any particular definitely not for present reasons shush why would you say that.

But its the frown that distracts her and before she can stop herself she opens her mouth to say something, sighs heavily and then shrugs in a forceful manner.
"Because maybe whoever mentioned your abs was really cute and is yanno... Wonderin' where you are right now." Now that they were inside she tried to break away from his arm to skip down the hall toward her room faster.
"Maybe they're like... Thinkin' 'bout you and hopin' you're thinkin' 'bout them." Which obviously he was. Sure to shoot him a guilty look mixed with mild hurt before she tripped toward her door, Abbi didn't bother with feeling bad about being passive aggressive. Perhaps she had spent years honing these skills, why not let them whet their whistle for just a little bit? It wasn't as if he would mind if he was thinking about someone else, anyways.