Pythagoras' Theorem (Part Three)

When I went to approach Laura, I contemplated doing it from upwind, to try and hide my scent, but I didn't. It wouldn't have mattered in the grand scheme of things. She still would have smelled me. I just walked through the woods to find her and hoped that she didn't bolt when I got to her.

By the time I reached the tree she was situated in, looking out over the lake, she didn't run. She sat on a branch, curled up and hugging her knees. I spoke up loudly, letting her know that I hadn't been trying to sneak up on her, "Hey."

"Hello," She greeted me back, and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. That was a start.

I pointed to the tree, "Do you mind if I sit down?" She did mind. She absolutely minded. But she didn't say that she did. She just shook her head, giving me permission.

I didn't go up to the branch she was on, or even climb up at all. Instead, I took a seat underneath it, on the ground, and tried to get comfortable. We settled into a silence as I gazed out at the lake scene, much like Laura was. While I decided what I was going to say, I took in the scene. The weather was starting to turn, getting cooler as we went into fall. I could see colors beginning to change on the leaves of trees on the other side of the water.

It was a nice, peaceful atmosphere. It was a shame I had to go and start ruining it by opening my mouth, but I'd been barking up the tree for this talk all afternoon.

"So, I've had a hell of a week," I led off, trying to get a dialogue going before I bit into the meat of my issue, "My son from the future has been trying to murder me," Most people would have had something to say about that. Not Laura, "Nothing? No response?"

I could feel and see her branch move as she shifted where she sat, "I am... sorry. I wasn't there," She apologized.

I snorted in amusement. There was absolutely nothing she could have done. Skip would have grabbed me the moment he had a chance, no matter who had been there, "Don't worry about it. No one was there. He kind of abducted me," My son abducted me, "I beat my own son to a pulp and locked him up. Eddie's an ass, by the way. He says he's going to start a pool on who the mother is."

I wasn't sure if I believed him on that, or if he was bluffing. It could have gone either way, to be honest.

While thinking to myself, Laura hopped down from her perch and started to stomp away. Aha. A trigger had been found. She'd been fine until something about a future baby mama came up. She usually snuck away whenever similar events occurred. It just so happened that she had my full attention this time, so she couldn't manage to give me the slip.

This time, I was quick enough to get her by the wrist before she could ditch me, "Let go," She growled, popping the claws on her free hand as a threat.

I winced at the sound of metal punching through her skin, but didn't let up, "No," I said, "Is it Megan? Is she what's pissing you off? Because every time she comes up, you get all surly."

I mean, Laura didn't have to like my girlfriend if she had a problem with her. I just needed to know so I could keep them apart and make things as comfortable as possible for everyone involved. The two of them didn't have to interact.

Laura put her claws away and looked down at the ground, "Yes..."

She seemed to feel bad about it. That was a start, "Well, what's the problem? Maybe I can fix it?"

Laura shook her head and pulled her wrist out of my grasp, "You can't fix everything, Bellamy."

Perhaps not. But this certainly felt like something I could help work out. And since it directly involved important people in my life, it was in my best interest to do so, "You can't just say that without trying. Come on."

Laura didn't budge on her stance, "I can say that, because the only thing you can do to fix it, you won't do. You will not want to, even if I told you that I wanted you to," She seemed frustrated.

"Unless you're telling me to hurt myself, or someone else I like, I really don't think it'll be that much of a problem."

Just like that, Laura's frustration seemed to turn to worry, something I hadn't seen from her very often, "It will do both. This isn't something simple. At least, that is what I have gotten from talking to Cessily."

I grunted in acknowledgment and went to lean against a tree, "Yeah... she and I had words about this earlier," I told Laura.

Laura's green eyes went wide, "You did?"

I tried to keep prodding gently. I didn't think she would up and bolt on me, but I didn't want to risk it, "We did. Right before I came to find you, actually. She didn't want to let me know anything was up, but she couldn't exactly hide it."

Laura stepped back to size me up, "What do you know?" She eyed me like I was a damn spy, which to be fair, I technically was. It was just that instead of going for state secrets, I was working more toward personal ones.

"The same thing I've always known," I said evenly, dumping the bulk of the responsibility on myself "I did something, and because I'm stupid, I don't know what that something is."

When I started trying to turn the blame of our little situation onto myself, Laura relented, "You didn't do anything. It is not your fault. Not really," She admitted begrudgingly, "I cannot blame you for being in a relationship with Megan. It is not fair."

It was weird. After she said that, it felt like everything around us went dead silent. The wind stopped blowing the trees. It was like nature itself was eavesdropping on us.

"...Huh?" For a moment, I felt that it sounded like she wanted me to-. No, it couldn't have been. My brain tacked itself to a more rational reasoning, "Oh, that's right. You don't like my girlfriend. We already established that a while ago."

Laura frowned, confused, "No. I do like Megan," What? But I'd just heard her confirm to me that it was Megan that was pissing her off, "Cessily helped me realize that what I do not like is that she is your girlfriend," Her cadence slowed down as she mumbled the last part.

"Oh," I said in response, finally getting a clearer picture. And the picture was now clear enough for me to solve the puzzle, "Ohhhh..." I repeated in understanding as the gravity of the situation started to level on me, "Ohhhh... shit."

Which was not the way to react to a girl saying that she liked you. The more I realized the horror of what I found myself in, the more dejected Laura's body language became. Well, horror wasn't the right word. Too strong, perhaps. But this wasn't a good outcome.

"Yes, 'shit'," Laura echoed. I winced at the clear bitterness in how she said it. Mouth, insert foot, " I told you, you would not want to, even if I told you that I wanted you to," With that, she turned on her heel and walked off.

I didn't go after her. What was I going to do at that point? Nothing smart. Nothing that wouldn't make things worse one way or another.

All this time, Laura thought I was good with people. No, it was just that there was usually a road map for dealing with people that I'd gotten pretty good at recognizing. There was no GPS or atlas for working with Laura Kinney. I was off the beaten trail now, for sure.

"Well, I really fucked that one up," I complained to myself under my breath. The chill of the impending fall seemed to agree as a cold wind blew right up my spine at that moment, "...Should have worn a jacket today..."