Paige led the way to a courtyard hidden behind a door in the language hallway. She entered, holding the door for Colton, and sat down on the closest wooden bench that overlooked a small pond with a several goldfish darting around. She smiled at Colton. "Welcome to my Haven!"
Colton took a moment to look around the place, making sure that any admiration stayed off his face., "Not bad."
Paige’s features dropped. “You don’t like it?”
"I never said that. It's nice. Just…. not what I'm used too, is all." Colton shrugged and tried for a smile.
"Oh. Okay." Paige leaned back against the bench and sighed with pleasure.
Colton swallowed and went and sat on the bench, "So… how'd you find this place?"
She bit her lip.
The doors were big and wooden, so anyone who can across it probably thought that it was a closet. So had she. She'd been hiding from her mom so she didn't have to go to play auditions and she found that the door was open. She hadn't even locked it, but when her mother tried to get in, the doors wouldn't budge. Whenever Paige needed to hide, this was where she would come.
"Just by chance. I was bored one day and wondered what was behind those doors. Who knew it would turn out to be all of this?" she looked around, hoping her story convinced him.
Colton frowned a little but it soon faded into a neutral expression and he nodded, "Makes sense."
Paige let a slow breath of relief out. He took it. She hadn't thought that he would.
"I'm just surprised no one else has found it yet…" Colton added, glancing at her side long.
"Me too," she said, looking at the pond. She, again, didn't want to explain about her mother not being able to get in.
"Is there something you're not telling me, Paige?" He cocked his head to the side.
She pressed her lips together. "No." If there was one thing Paige was awful at, it was lying.
Colton shuffled closer, "Liar."
She inched away. "Um…"
Colton moved closer, "Don't lie to me sweatheart."
Paige's stomach flip-flopped. "Well…"
"Well what? Hm?" Colton raised an eyebrow.
"Mrs. Turner, the drama teacher, is… my mom. And she just really want me to get into theater and acting, but I don't like it. She doesn't understand because of who she is, so she forces me into this life that I don't really want. She makes me audition for the play and the musical, and everything in between. So one day, I decided that I wouldn't have it: I wasn't going to take her crap anymore. When she called me down to the auditorium to try out, I tried to find a place to hide. I thought that this was a closet, so I ran inside to hide. A little while later, my mom came by looking for me. She tried to open the door and it was locked, even though I didn't lock it. So now I come in here whenever I want to be away from my mom or to clear my head or just to think." When she was finished, Paige shifted uncomfortably. How would he take it? Would he side with her or her mother? Would he tell anyone about her spot? She got more and more anxious with every passing second.
Colton was silent for a few moments, thinking through everything she had told him before he nodded slowly, "I… I understand. Family is… hard but if you don't want to do something you shouldn't have to do it. And I won't tell anyone about this place, I swear," He knew all too well that having a place away from family was the best feeling. Only her family problems were much, much different to his but he could understand to some degree.
"Thank you," she said, putting her hand on top of his to show her thanks.
Colton tensed a little but forced himself to relax, "Ehe, it's fine."
"What about your family?" she asked, removing her hand. Boundaries, Paige! she yelled at herself.
Colton stiffed almost immediately, an aching he'd chosen to ignore suddenly present as he looked away, "Not important."
"Don't lie to me, sweetheart," she retorted, using his own words against him with a sly smile.