Unfortunately, most secrets bubble over, sooner or later.

Tim's heart is thundering. He jumps out of bed and darts by Maverick, wincing as he moves. The hesitation is all Maverick needs to leap over and tackle Tim to the ground.

"Why... are you... running?" Maverick wrestles with Tim's arms, trying to force him into a pin with his hands behind his head.

He succeeds, pushing Tim's face down into the wood. Tim bites back the pain as Maverick's leg grazes his ankle. "Watch it. I'm delicate."

As Maverick straddles Tim, he holds Tim's hands behind his back. Maverick leans down to whisper in Tim's ear. "Trust me, I don't enjoy this. Either we can sit here like this until the others get home, or we can sit down like civilized people."

Maverick waits for a second before he pulls off Tim. Tim tries to scurry along the ground towards the door, only to be slammed down once more like Maverick.

"So we're behaving like savages," Maverick says, sitting back down on Tim. He pins Tim's arm up, just a little too tightly. Tim let's out a yelp. "That's fine with me."

~~~

The group of girls leave the forest. From there, they spot the three boys moving over the horizon. Mickey carries the food while Alvaro supports Hubert's weight.

"What's up with him?" Flo asks, looking over at the others.

Clara shakes her head. "I haven't the foggiest."

Beverly grabs Flo and Clara by the wrist, and soon the girls are racing off towards the boys. It takes a couple of minutes to catch up to them, but by the time they get there, they are huffing and laughing together. Not Clara, however, who has a look of worry on her face the entire time.

Once they are all together, Clara moves over to help carry Hubert. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's sobering up," Alvaro points out.

Mickey shoots a glare Hubert's way. "He has some explaining to do. The swigger's a liar."

Clara furrows her brow, meeting Mickey's frown, but says nothing.

Beverly blinks. She hates thick tension. It wilts her like a flower. She grabs Flo's arm, pulling her out of the way so the others can continue their way back to the cabin.

"What's he lying about?" Bev asks, leaning in closer.

"Well..." Alvaro trails off. "I think we should wait for Adwin and Maverick before we make a decision."

Flo is caught off guard, because at first, she almost adds in Tim's name. Something stops her though. Something passes through her, like an itch throughout her whole body. She shivers but steps forward.

Mickey is too trapped in his head to notice.

"Well, we ought to head back then," Beverly smiles. She finally lets go of Flo and turns around.

Alvaro notices Flo's disappointment. He offers her a small frown, before nodding his head at her. "Will you give Mickey a hand with the food? It'll certainly speed us up."

~~~

Finally, Adwin has had it for the day. He trudges back up towards the house before he collapses on the porch. He sits there, baking in the sun, for a few minutes. Though he tries to remind himself to enjoy the open air, he is beginning to feel trapped. The skin on his cheeks is peeling from overexposure to the sun.

History had always fascinated him, but now he is wishing the universe had been content to let him admire it at a distance. Unfortunately, he is trapped in a past that he can't stop.

"Adwin!" Beverly smiles as they poke up the hillside.

Adwin looks over and watches the crew approach. He offers a polite wave, as Beverly darts over.

"We have news," she exclaims. "Well, Hubert has news that he has yet to tell us, but it is certain to be exciting."

When Adwin sees the others, he stands up and furrows his brow. He makes his way over to Flo to help relieve the tension of carrying so much food all at once. His stomach grumbles as they carry it over.

"I see," Adwin says. He looks over, and can't tell if Alvaro and Mickey are angry with him or Hubert. Both, he ultimately comes to, undoubtedly. Rather than focus on that, he turns his attention to Beverly. "Any luck with the figure you saw?"

When Beverly shakes her head, Flo pipes in. "We got a bit sidetracked. Honestly."

"Better luck next time," Adwin offers.

With that, the group walks in.

Adwin's body tightens when he sees Maverick on top of Tim, forcing the boy's face into the ground.

"What are you doing?" Adwin asks, dropping the food in the doorway. After stumbling forward, he doesn't know what to do.

Flo watches on silently. She doesn't dare interrupt the moment or let the moment interrupt her. She moves to put the food away, watching Maverick and Tim out of the corner of her eyes.

Clara and Alvaro move to dump Hubert on Clara's bed. The drunkard stumbles a bit backwards, nearly hitting his head. Clara steadies him while Alvaro turns around. "I see we aren't the only ones with news."

"What happened at Mr. Tremblay's?" Maverick asks.

Tim shifts beneath him, and so Maverick pushes his head farther into the ground. Tim cries out in pain, but Maverick doesn't relent.

"You can go first," Alvaro offers, looking to Mickey for approval.

Mickey nods.

"Oh, really I insist," Maverick grunts.

Adwin shakes his head back and forth. "Are you all being serious right now?"

"Maverick, you do realize that you are currently attacking Tim?" Beverly asks. She furrows her brow and moves to sit down just above him.

Maverick almost laughs, but instead, his shoulders relax. He is indeed, attacking Tim. Rather than explain, he lifts Tim by the collar off the ground and drops him on the bed next to him. Beverly scurries away, leaving Tim alone.

"Tell us, Tim, what you told me," Maverick says. He puts his hands together and cracks his knuckles.

Tim shakes his head.

"Alvaro, pin back Mr. Gallego," Maverick instructs.

"What-" Mickey is cut off by Alvaro wrapping his arms around Mickey and pulling them behind his back.

"Tim killed Ivy," Maverick says. "Intentionally."

Flo stiffens. She begins to race to put everything away as quickly as possible, focusing her mind on each individual cabinet. Everything has a place, and hers is here. Away from Tim, who is crying on the bed, and away from Mickey, who is trying to rip himself out of Alvaro's iron grip.

"Are you... are you sure?" Adwin asks. He shakes his head at his own naivete. The worst part, he decides, is that he is still not convinced, even though Maverick has no reason to lie, and Tim has everything to gain. "Why would he... why?"

"I haven't a clue," Maverick refusing to take his glare off of Tim.

"Let me go, and I promise I will kill him quickly," Mickey says.

Clara sees no reason to argue. She sees no reason to say anything. She stands, turning her head back and forth like she is caught in a tennis match. All of this seems less important with Ivy dead. What does it matter who did it and when considering there is important news for Hubert to share?

"We can't just kill him!" Adwin insists.

Beverly isn't sure what they can or can't do. "Maybe Ivy was possessed and trying to kill him."

"We sure as fuck can kill him," Alvaro points out, slowly relaxing his grip on Mickey. He doesn't let go for two reasons. The first is to impress Maverick. The second, simply, is that he doesn't want Mickey to embarrass himself again in front of Clara because then Mickey will talk about nothing else for another week. "I say we just push him off a cliff."

"Please, please don't kill me," Tim begs, folding his arms together. He kneels in front of Maverick, his arm outstretched. "Please, let me explain. The ocean made me. It was Ivy's purpose."

"Oh, go fuck yourself," Mickey rolls his eyes, finally beginning to relax in Alvaro's arms.

"What do you mean?" Adwin asks, shaking his head back and forth. "It's... it's an ocean. It doesn't make people do anything."

Tim pulls up his ankle to reveal the spots of red skin, no longer a bruise. Now, it is clear to see that it is dark flesh, trying it's best to heal. The injury goes in, deep in his skin.

"That's from the ocean," he tries his best to explain it, but he can't. "The ocean said I needed to bring it a life in exchange for ridding me of the rot. Ivy was possessed. I had no choice."

"You choose death!" Mickey counters.

Alvaro struggles a bit to agree because he's been there before. You get your friends out, of course, but if death is you or an acquaintance, you always choose the acquaintance. However, he reminds himself that God has brought him there as a punishment for his sins, so maybe he shouldn't be talking.

"We would be no better if we killed him," Clara says firmly, finally looking up from Hubert.

"Not only that, but what good would it do?" Adwin points out. "Tim also has a task here, that we must let him get through. We should not interfere with it."

Maverick imagines the others are looking for a central conclusion, and he hopes to provide it. He is done playing in the background, letting the others act and supporting them. It is time for Maverick, much like Tim, to take centre stage. "We shun him. No one speaks to Tim again. Ever."

They all nod in agreement.

Finally, Maverick turns to the Alvaro and Mickey. "What was your news?"

Alvaro lets go of Mickey so that they can make eye contact. The two exchange a glance.

"It seems so unimportant now," Alvaro scratches the back of his neck. "Rain check?"

Bev steps forward. "No secrets."

Mickey nods. He moves over and taps Hubert. "Tell them what you told us."

Now that he is much soberer, Hubert is embarrassed. His face burns bright red as he sits up. His body touches Clara's, and she feels herself ignite.

"The reason I told you not to tell people about your past wasn't that it'll ruin the world, but because it's to prevent you from getting attached. Seeing as one of you has already died."

The room goes quiet.

Adwin shuffles under his feet, trying to find a way to change the silence. "Well, this changes nothing. We still shouldn't talk about it, in case we alter history. It's for the best."

"Even if it wasn't your decision to make, it was the right call," Maverick agrees.

The others don't want to admit that, selfishly, they want to know everything about everyone else. Hubert is right; a connection is hard without any glimpse of the past.

Clara wants to know everything about the future, but it doesn't occur to her to be frustrated with Hubert for robbing her of this. Instead, her frustrations rest with Adwin and Maverick for agreeing.

At the cupboards, Flo has finally finished putting everything away. She turns away from the neatly stacked and packed food, looking at the others. "Well, we ought to get back to business."

~~~~~

This chapter is A LOT and I love it. Also, thank you for the birthday wishes but my birthday isn't until September (which is why this needs to be done in mid-August). Anyway, your comments mean a lot to me, and it's 90% of the reason this is out so early.

Anyway, I appreciate you all supporting me in everyway you can, and I hope to see you all soon.