Harry's POV

"This is going to be a super exciting treasure hunt that will test your navigation skills! Pair up! And don't get lost!" Dr Smith's words were swallowed by the roar of chatter from the group of people around us, and I made eye contact with Phoenix.

In my mind, Smith was making one bad decision after another. How stupid could he be to let fifty or more clinically insane people roam around a forest? The opportunities for death or at the very least injuries was extraordinarily high but Smith seemed to be ignoring this fact.

"Let's just get this over and done with," Phoenix muttered and thrusted the map into my chest, already walking off into the dense trees without looking to see if I would follow.

She had woken up the next morning and returned back to her normal self; she was standoffish, arrogant- a complete contrast to the vulnerability she had shown the night before. I had no choice but to follow her, rotating the map to try and find some way to read it. Geography was not my strong point.

Phoenix didn't talk much as we trampled sticks and leaves under our feet, trying to find whatever the prize at the end of the hunt was. She didn't appear to be reclusive, but at the same time there was a shift in her confidence. Maybe she trusted me slightly more, and didn't feel the need to put on her sarcastic front.

"This is stupid," she mumbled to herself, kicking a rock in front of her, causing birds above us to leave the trees in fear.

"Maybe there will be a great prize at the end," I replied back sarcastically and she smiled slightly; I enjoyed entertaining her, it gave me some sense of accomplishment.

"Maybe it will be two return tickets back to London! Or even better- two tickets out of the looney house and back into the real world!" She laughed at her own comment which I didn't find that amusing, she was losing her sense of humour.

Secretly I was worried about her, the way she had confided in me the night before indicated that these feelings had been bottled up for years. She noticed my silence but didn't comment on it, she probably didn't care what was going on inside my mind.

***

"We're lost!" She screamed at me, throwing the paper map to the grown and covering it in mud in her furious rage.

We were indeed lost. All around us trees loomed, and no matter where I turned everything looked the same. There was something ominous about feeling so alone, and it didn't help that Phoenix was completely overreacting.

"Calm down! We can find our way back if we keep sane-"

"Neither of us are sane Harry! That's why we ended up on this trip in the first place! Oh Dr Smith is going to have some stupid smirk on his face when he finds out that we're missing," she grimaced slightly, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"He'll claim that we were trying to run away, and it will give him all the more reason to add an extra three years to my time at the clinic. He won't touch you don't worry, he'll say I brainwashed you. He just wants to keep me like a pet," she grew tired of pacing and sat down on the forest floor, pouting ever so slightly.

"You really hate him, don't you?" I sat down next to her, my trousers becoming instantly muddied but that was the least of my worries.

"Hate is an understatement. That man has ruined my life for years, he's locked me up for no good reason... Well maybe one or two reasons, but I'm not insane..." Her sentence trailed off as she looked into the distance, her eyes glazing over slightly.

There was something about Phoenix that was hidden. She was scared. She had obviously been hurt in the past, and trust was an abstract concept to her. I refrained from placing my arm around her, and instead I looked out into the forest as well.

The only movements around us came from the rustling leaves and occasionally some woodland creatures. The idea of retracing our steps was laughable, because we were completely and utterly lost. We had talked too much and paid little attention to the map until it was too late and we were left stranded in this unknown woodland.

"We should look for a main road, maybe someone can take up back to the campsite. We've gone too far south to go back on foot, and it's already mid-afternoon. I really don't want to sleep in this forest," I took a pragmatic approach the situation which seemed to startle Phoenix.

I guess she was so used to seeing me like a follower of hers, just someone who couldn't think for themselves. I could be a leader and make decisions, it was just that my decisions often had disastrous consequences.

"Maybe you're right, a good hitchhike wouldn't do us any harm," again she smiled, this time showcasing her slightly crooked teeth.

Helping her to her feet, I couldn't help but take a deep intake of breath when our hands met. Shaking off my feelings, I told myself to get a grip. I couldn't have romantic feelings for Phoenix- it would only hurt me more.

As we walked through the uneven forest, our clothes getting snagged on sharp objects protruding from the ground, I watched Phoenix with curiosity. She fascinated me in more ways than one, and it was almost as if I was seeing another part to her character with every passing day.

I wanted her to trust me, but I knew she would always fly away from me. She knew to keep her distance, someone had taught her that a long time ago. I couldn't help seeing pain in her eyes every time she looked at me, almost like she was seeing a ghost. Or a memory she had tried to suppress.

So they're lost. Dun dun daaa! Will they find their way back? What will happen next? Sorry for the late update!

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