Penny avoided Colton the next two weeks, which worked out since his family spent one of those weeks in Dollywood. It was enough of a cleanse–for a lack of a proper term–for Hodge to settle back down.

She stocked up on pictures, and groomed him slowly to soak in the full interaction. He was softer under her touch than before, as if he too had missed their time together.

“Hey, want some good news,” Penny murmured to the colt. “My caseworker said the Sizemores want to foster me. They're getting the last of it worked out, and I should be starting high school right around the corner from you.” She gave his neck a hearty pat. “Couple more weeks at most, and I'll be back to being able to sneak out here almost every evening. I'll just have to dodge Colton….”

Guilt squished around her insides. Colton texted her everyday with pictures of his trip, or just to say he missed her. She recognized it was nice, but it made her want to turn her phone off for weeks. It felt wrong to be cute back, or to simply say she missed hanging out.

She picked burs from Hodge's tail tuff. “Think I’ll walk to the Sizemores. I can set the stop watch on my phone to get a better idea how long it is between there and here. They’re pretty chill, so I don't want to give them any reason to get more strict with me.”

They were bound to have grown more strict having Aaliyah in the house the last two years. If she was going to break curfew, she would need to be precise.

She wiped Hodge down with fly repellent before tucking her grooming supplies away in their hollow. She bounded through the tall, dry grass like a deer, blowing Hodge a kiss as she exited the glade.

The cul de sac development was closer to the glade than Penny remembered. She chalked it up to how much she had grown, both in overall maturity and in speed. She was definitely a faster jogger than a couple of years ago. It was encouraging knowing she would soon be close enough to Hodge that sneaking out was completely doable. It would come down to mostly balancing out Mrs. Sizemore's random night shifts and making sure Colton was preoccupied elsewhere, and that was far less daunting than being moved an hour away.

She noticed both the Sizemores’ cars absent from the driveway. It saved her needing to suck up to them, to put on a show of her gratitude. She was about to turn around, to go to the meeting spot to be picked up by Paige, when Aaliyah burst from the house. Penny only just ducked behind the brick mailbox in time to avoid being seen. She was in too good a mood to let her foster sister ruin it.

Aaliyah rushed to the Lambert house, pounded on the door, and shifted uncomfortably while she waited. Emily opened the door seconds later.

“Can I stay over tonight,” Aaliyah begged.

“Sorry,” Emily said. “I’m going to a friend’s. We’re planning our road trip.”

“Right. Of course. Gotta get ready for college….”

“Mrs. Sizemore is working tonight? Oh… Aaliyah….” Emily hugged her. “You got to say something.”

“I can’t! I got nowhere else,” Aaliyah said. She backed up. “Send pics from your trip.”

“Maybe it’ll be better once Penny…?” Emily looked uneasy and pale even from Penny’s vantage. “I’m still going to help you get out of there. I promise!”

They moved to hug again, just as Penny’s phone rang. She was quick to hit the silence, but the two older girls were now looking around where they stood, half unsure they had really heard anything. Penny stayed still, pressed against the mailbox, until Emily invited Aaliyah in.

Penny ran from the cul de sac, opening her phone and calling Paige back.

‘Where are you? I’m waiting at Garrett’s.’

“Around the corner,” Penny said, her breathing rough. “I went to the Sizmores.”

‘There in a sec.’

She settled on the corner of the street to wait. Her heart was thumping, but it wasn’t so much from the short jog. Aaliyah had been distressed, and whatever was happening was something Emily not only knew about, but also agreed was bad. It was hard to forget that look on Emily’s face when she mentioned her name.

Mr. McBride and Brooke flashed through her mind. She shook it off as Paige pulled up, forced a smile, and climbed in.

“You okay,” Paige asked. “You look kinda freaked.”

“Yeah…,” Penny said. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“You don’t have to go on the camping trip if you’re feeling sick,” Paige said. “Or hell, just think of all the mosquitoes and skip it anyway.”

It completely slipped her mind that the girls’ home was doing their annual camping trip that night. She hadn’t arrived at the home in time for it last year, and with moving to the Sizemores’ soon, this would be her only chance to hang out in the mountains all night. She was looking forward to being away from the random developments and small cities, though she did wish Paige would reconsider and come along. She never grew close with the other girls.

Her mind wandered to Aaliyah during her short packing time. It was an overnight trip and didn’t require much planning. Her excitement for it was all that kept her from turning over every detail of the micro-conversation between Aaliyah and Emily, and attempting to figure out why it caused her such unease.

The old school bus, repainted white with curly, purple and green lettering, carried eleven of them out of their squashed city into the mountains. Penny found herself next to Beth-Ann for the drive. She was a year older, claimed to be descended from Native American royalty—minus Beth-Ann being a twiggy blonde, Penny was almost sure tribes didn’t work that way, but didn’t care enough to look it up or argue—and claimed to know everything about outdoor survival, or just everything in general. Despite all the irritations, she enjoyed Beth-Ann in moderation.

“You finally get to camp,” Beth-Ann said. “Just stick close. I know all the right spots.”

“Isn't it a campsite,” Penny asked.

“You’ve never been camping, right," Beth-Ann asked, ignoring Penny’s question. “No, right? Because you were in the suburbs all your life.”

“Were you not,” Penny asked. “I thought you'd been at the home for half your life?”

“At least you get one camping trip before going to your new placement,” Beth-Ann said, once more ignoring Penny. “This'll be so fun! And,” she lowered her head, looking around as if afraid of being overheard, “it's my last camping trip with everyone too. But, shh, I'm not supposed to know yet.”

“Adoption,” Penny whispered.

“Finally,” Beth-Ann said. “It’s this couple that fostered me a couple of years ago. They had job stuff happen, so I had to come back, but all that’s straight now.” She swelled. “They’ve kept in contact this whole time. Sometimes even went for outings and stuff.” She squeezed Penny’s hand. “It feels incredible to be wanted. You really should open yourself up to it.”

Penny slipped her hand away. “I won’t give up on my family.”

Beth-Ann rolled her eyes, sighed in a condescending, sympathetic way, and turned out to talk to one of the girls across the aisle. That left Penny to stew while staring out the window, watching the trees thicken.

The campsite was a stone’s throw from the park bathrooms. It was spacious with the orangey lamp from the restrooms filtering through the branches and washing out half the clearing. Five, large, well-kept but clearly used tents were pitched, and sleeping arrangements were assigned. Penny found herself assigned to a tent with Beth-Ann, being one of two tents with only two occupants.

“So lucky,” Beth-Ann squealed, throwing down her large, stuffed hiking bag. “I was sure we’d get one of the chaperons.”

Penny set down her backpack on the free sleeping bag. She propped her face on her fist; Beth-Ann rummaging around eagerly in her bag, extracting a headlamp, a vest full of pockets, and other survivalist gear that fell into a more nonsensical lens, especially for a short, contained trip.

“I went ‘squatching last year,” Beth-Ann said. “I was in so much trouble, but just for a minute. Told them I got lost looking for the bathroom.”

“Guess that explains them being right there,” Penny said. She paused searching through her bag, looking up. “Wait… ‘squatching? Like sasquatch? Like… bigfoot?” A smile spread across her face. “You believe in bigfoot?”

Beth-Ann’s hackles rose defensively. She tossed her hair, a sneer on her lips and threw out an air of superiority and nonchalance.

“This is Appalachia, Penny,” she said hauntingly; “there’s things out there that’d make your hair curl.”

“I believe in bigfoot too,” Penny said eagerly, ignoring Beth-Ann’s defensiveness. She laughed as the older girl deflated. “I always have. I was picked on for it when I was little.”

They went back and forth on lore and being teased. Penny probed to figure out how far Beth-Ann’s belief extended; on the fence for unicorns and giants, zero belief for dragons, fully on board for will o’ the wisps (she adamantly called them haunts). She knew nothing—as far as Penny could tell by way of very vague questions—of the Realm, keepers, the Holy Cor, the Order of Ferblanc, nor of the Auctorita, although Penny was also unfamiliar with the last minus the conversation with the mage and the knowledge that they harvested Hodge’s mother.

“This is great,” Beth-Ann exclaimed. “Our last camping trip and we can go ‘squatching together. I don’t have any gear for you, but just stick close and you'll be fine.”

It sounded more fun than ATVing, but Penny was hesitant to encourage it. She had come face-to-face with a bigfoot before, and was more confident in her ability to get away having done it once, but the circumstances had been different. The biggest being it was during the day with her first encounter, and she had been focused on keeping it away from Levi. Running into a bigfoot at night, with someone who over confidently thought they knew all there was about them, was more dangerous. 

She gave her a noncommittal grunt, and hastily left for the dinner bell.

The group of them told stories, attempted camp songs, and ate s'mores well into the night afterwards. They ended the group time by going around and recapping what good happened over the school year, what was disappointing, and their hopes for the coming academic year. Several of the girls cited failed placements as disappointments with the hopes for one soon. Penny stuck to keeping it related to academia and went with constantly changing schools but being glad to be back among friends she had known previously.

Beth-Ann made no mentions of traipsing off into the wood during any of this, whether offhanded or in whispers. Penny was jostled awake shortly after sinking into a restful sleep, her heart jumping in her chest at the red light directly in her eyes.

“Ready,” Beth-Ann whispered eagerly.

Penny forgot her annoyance at being woken, and her trepidation, and quickly threw a zip-up on over her pajamas.

The woods were darker than any Penny had wandered before, but her experience was limited to the forests that surrounded Hodge’s glade. That was not nearly as old, and was sandwiched between developments that had once been farmland.

The excitement waned soon as the damp chilliness of the woods soaked into Penny’s shoes. She didn't want to be the one to suggest heading back to camp; she couldn’t stomach the idea that Beth-Ann would think she was being a wuss—she definitely would boast about it at the home.

“Anything yet,” Penny asked. “Hair? Broken twigs?”

“No,” Beth-Ann sighed, clearly disappointed. “Just a lot of deer tracks. We can do a call further in. That'll do something.”

Penny crossed her arms tight to cut the cold seeping into her clothes. She took Beth-Ann's disappointment and resorting to yelling as a sign it would soon be over. She merely had to distract herself until then, which was easier thought than practiced with only Beth-Ann having a light.

She slowed her pace to create more distance before pulling her phone out of her pajama pocket. She tapped it and turned it screen down, knowing the milky glow would be less distracting than the flashlight, and less likely to draw Beth-Ann’s notice. Penny hated to think they would need to wander even longer in the damp woods over an accusation that her phone scared off a bigfoot.

Beth-Ann understated when she said there were a lot of deer tracks. There was more than just the thin trail with a set or two in a single file. The tracks wove in and out of each other, creating a webbing pattern. There must’ve been five at the least; an entire herd that was prowling.

The gap between she and Beth-Ann widened as she stopped. Her stomach twisted. The hairs on her neck and arm rose.

Deer did not prowl.

Her sweat ran cold when she realized Beth-Ann and her red light were no longer in sight. She switched from her phone screen to the flashlight app, turning slowly on the spot. Every crack, swish, or rustle had her jump from her skin. Her heart was going fast enough to have her breathing ragged.

“B-Beth-Ann,” Penny hissed. She attempted swallowing but her mouth was dry. “Beth-Ann!”

The library books she poured over when she first arrived at the Lamberts’ years ago came back in fragments. She tried sticking to local lore, but after her run in with the bigfoot and alienation from her friends, she lost a lot of motivation. There were dangerous creatures in the mountains, that was certain.

“Beth-Ann,” Penny yelled. “Beth-Ann! Where are you?”

She yelled out louder and louder, breaking branches and kicking over small, dead trees; anything to make as much noise as possible. She raced through what creatures she remembered: bigfoot, will o’ the wisps, not-deer…. She froze and shrieked Beth-Ann’s name as loud as she could, followed by calling out for help.

A branch snapped behind her.

Eyes glowed just beyond her flashlight. Slowly, steadily, a deer stalked into the beam, but there was a profound sense of wrongness about it. The eyes were forward in its skull, like those of a cougar, and its legs bent like a wolf's creeping into ambush position.

It took a moment for her scream to escape her throat; it had to build before exploding out. She ended it with a snarl, waving her arms and phone around. Her blood chilled when the not-deer barely hesitated in its hunt.

A second crack sounded behind her. She whirled around, spotting a second not-deer in the corner of her eye. She bolted between the two; leapt over a log, broke through scratchy branches, caught a glimpse of a red light, and tripped head over heels in her attempt to stop too quickly for her body to properly react.

She eased up, straightened, and swung her phone around towards the red light as she climbed up.

Several pairs of eyes caught the light, low and crouched. Blood was smeared over their snouts. It only barely registered what she saw them crouched over was Beth-Ann and not a random carcass as her phone tumbled from her hands, landing with the light down.

Penny’s knees gave. She could smell the blood in the dark, hear the fabric ripping and the squelch of the not-deer feasting. Beth-Ann’s red flashlight lit enough to catch movement, enough to catch eyes.

She screamed, teeth sinking into her shoulder from behind.

-----------------------------

I wanted so bad to use not-deer with Nellie and could not find a spot for them. They are one of the creepiest cryptids, and that's in part because there are so many cedible stories. The running theory is that either these people are running into rabid deer, mutated deer, or deer suffering some other type of nuerological issue similar to rabies. I'm kind of like 'could be a carnivorous sub-species or something that only look like deer as a type of camoflague'.

I dislike the name Beth-Ann and all variations of it a lot. I don't know why, but I do. So, when I knew Penny would have a friend(ish) person die, I immediately was like 'what name do I hate'. I almost had it be Paige, but it didn't fit what personality I was building for Paige to even want to be in nature.

There were upsides to moving to the girls’ home. That Christmas, Penny was given a new sweater. The plain, generically purple sweater–that was nearer to a sweatshirt–was the first article of new clothing she had ever had. She wore it as often as she was able.

The other was that the other girls were not nearly as mean as Aaliyah and the girls at her previous home, at least not overtly. The administrators were much more strict, so physical fights were squashed before they broke out, but they couldn't stop cold shouldering or backhanded remarks.

It was such a pleasant change that Penny barely noticed when she was on the receiving end.

To continue the pleasantness, she got along fairly well with her assigned buddy. Paige was older with dusty brown hair and slightly bucked teeth. Since she had a driver’s license and was a long-term resident in good standing with the administration, she acted as Penny’s chaperon during most outings. Paige volunteered often for the chance to escort Penny around; being a fan of her photos, she boasted about how she was the force behind the scenes.

The challenge was for Penny to distract Paige while she searched for appropriate pictures of fairies and other creatures. She could only risk seeing Hodge if her chaperon was thoroughly distracted by Garrett, which became increasingly easier over the months. There was a shift in her posts to show more of her face (along with Paige) out and about to fill the long stretches between pictures that she was truly interested in posting.

Spring was beginning to take hold as the week long break from school arrived. Penny’s middle school break lined up perfectly with her old school's while not lining up with Paige's high school. She managed to convince Paige she could be unattended for a day, giving her time to stock up on Hodge pictures and spend uninterrupted quality time with him.

The young unicorn was fading into a warm, ivory color. His rump and back were dappled with gold. His legs were still gray, but his feathers being a downy white led Penny to believe his legs too would change.

She hummed serenely as she untangled his wavy mane, sectioning it off to create little braids. It was now long enough to create a curtain down half his strong neck.

Her phone alarm jerked both of them from their calm stupor. She silenced it with annoyance, Hodge reflecting her mood with a series of snorts and stomps.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Penny said, stroking his nose. “Paige will send Garrett and Colton to search for me if I'm not back before her.” She laughed ruefully. “They’d sure be surprised knowing I was hanging out in their backyard all this time.” She nuzzled him as he nuzzled her cheek. “I’ll try to come back soon.”

She stashed her grooming supplies in a tree hollow just beyond the ivy veil. She blew Hodge a kiss as she stomped through the long grass, leaving him and the glade behind.

The typical meeting point was on the corner near Colton’s house. Penny had explained to Paige that them coming and going on the property would stress out Colton’s mom. Not true as far as she knew, but it made it easier for her to sneak to the glade without Colton noticing she was there.

She waved Paige down and quickly jumped into the front seat. She twisted around to stare behind them as Paige continued on to Colton’s.

“We’re not going back,” Penny asked.

“I wanted to see Garrett,” Paige said. “My break starts Monday, so I’m thinking we can hang out Saturday or Sunday.” She smirked. “Just us two. You and Colton will have to entertain yourselves.”

Penny slumped in her seat as they pulled up to the house. Paige had always just picked her up and headed back with the drive as long as it was. There was great danger of them all realizing that she had been coming over and not hanging out with them. It wouldn't be a leap for Colton at least to realize she'd been going right to the glade, and for that to turn into him and his brother staking the place out.

Paige beeped her horn as she cut the engine. She rushed from the car and snuggled up to Garrett as he appeared on the front step. They giggled and whispered inches from each other’s faces as they strolled off towards the ATV shed, Paige clinging to his arm.

“They sure are sickening,” Colton mused, jerking his head in their direction as he exited the house. He grinned. “Wondering if you’d ever make an appearance. Our break is almost over.”

“Yeah… I know,” Penny said, shaking her head. “It went too fast. We’d probably’ve been here every day if Paige had the same break.”

Colton stuffed his hands in his pockets, swaying on the spot. "Think we can hang out this weekend?”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Penny said. “Paige’s planning on it. We can go ATVing with the guys. Give those two time alone.”

“Actually…,” Colton blushed, “I wanted just us to spend time together….” He sank onto the stoop, refusing to look up at her. “I… l-like you, Penny.”

“Oh.”

“I have. For a while.”

“...Oh.”

“So… I was thinking…,” he trailed off, gulping. “Want to be my girlfriend?”

Penny hadn’t thought about Colton as anything other than her friend, one that Brooke–her first, real friend–introduced her to. She did hang out with him most consistently out of all her friends, and she did like to hang out with him for the most part.

Paige and Garrett continued their simpering and giggling near the ATV shed. They swayed together as if they were dancing to music only they could hear. Penny fought to keep her nose from wrinkling at the odd, overly affectionate display.

“Penny?” Colton was watching her, paler and pleading.

“Um… sure,” Penny said, her stomach flopping. “I guess we can give it a try.” She threw her hands up, smiling nervously. “Yeah. Why not? I mean, we do have fun together. Why not just be a couple?”

“Really?” He jumped up, hopping in place. “So, should we hug, or….” He turned bright red. “S-should we hug,” he repeated, his voice higher.

She laughed, her cheeks tinting red. She eased into an awkward hug, mimicking his back patting. They jumped apart at the sound of the front door opening again.

“Ah,” Colton’s mother said, a small smile on her lips. “I thought you were trending this way….” She stepped through them like landmines. “Don’t mind me. Just running to get groceries. Carry on.”

They were both too embarrassed to hug again, and promptly went to separate Paige and Garrett. It was best to leave their newfound relationship to stew on a somewhat high note.

---

I liked the unicorn pics better.

Cute! But I miss the unicorn.

Traded Hodge for humans, lmao.

Penny frowned as she scrolled the comments on her newest picture. It was one of her and Colton making faces with a sparkle filter overlay. It wasn't her best. She was terrible at selfies, hated taking them, and greatly disliked the filters associated with them, but she had used her last Hodge photo and needed to put up something.

She had a better reaction from people when she posted her impromptu video about being moved almost a year ago. There had even been talks of donations, but since no one–she included–could figure out for what, that never materialized.

“Authenticity,” Penny murmured. “That’s got to be it.”

“What’s that, babe,” Colton asked, dropping into the booth next to her. He laughed at her scowl. “I couldn’t resist.” He set her soda from the fountain in front of her. “I gotta get your attention somehow when you’re glued to that phone.”

Levi dropped onto the other side of the booth with his girlfriend, each of them carrying a tray of fries. Penny had forgotten the girlfriend’s name shortly after they met a couple of weeks ago, and had since avoided needing to say it while waiting for someone else to say it. Unfortunately, she suspected Colton had also forgotten her name since he always referred to her as Levi’s girl, and Levi always used a pet name.

“I got the extra large in case you change your mind,” Levi said to Penny.

Penny found it hard to participate in the double date. The three of them went to the same school, and she was not too interested in reliving when she also attended. That would lead back to more awkward and painful topics like what happened with Brooke, and that was too personal to share with Levi’s girlfriend.

She contributed when she could while stealing glances at her photos. There must’ve been old ones she hadn’t put up yet that she could use.

“Babe,” Colton said, his tone not as playful.

She flipped her phone over in her lap. “Sorry.”

“Penny does a lot of Instagram,” Levi said in a loud whisper to his girlfriend.

“Oh, cool,” she said politely. “I’m on there too.” She tried to hide her smug smirk. “I just crossed one hundred followers.”

“Awesome! The first hundred is hard,” Penny said. 

“How many do you have?”

She narrowed her eyes as Colton roughly nudged her shin. “I’m nearing eleven million.”

Levi choked on his soda loud enough and dramatic enough that it had his girlfriend's reaction go from shock to concern in half a second. Colton went around the table to slap him on the back.

“E-eleven… million,” Levi choked out.

“I've been on for years,” Penny said dismissively. “It’s a time thing.”

“I've been on since the fourth grade,” the girlfriend said flatly.

Penny awkwardly sipped her soda.

The boys tried to shift gears by talking about some streamer they both watched, which did nothing except distract them from the tension between their girlfriends. Penny kept trying to look friendly, but the ache in her face indicated that she was doing poorly at hiding the strain of it.

“Penny, come with me to the bathroom,” the girlfriend said.

She had heard of this phenomenon of girls going to the bathroom together. She guessed she was now old enough to be initiated. She gave Colton a slight shrug and followed the girlfriend from the table.

Not needing the bathroom, she waited by the mirrors. She inspected her green eyes and checked her teeth.

The girlfriend washed her hands and applied lip gloss. “Eleven million. Wow.” She smacked her lips. “Do you put couple pics up? What gets more traction? Kissing or cutesy?”

“Me and Colton haven't…,” she trailed off, blushing furiously.

The girlfriend's reflection gave her a triumphant smirk. She fluffed her hair and headed out of the bathroom. Penny gave it a beat before following to allow her burning cheeks to cool.

She slipped in next to Colton and grabbed for her soda. She could feel Levi's girlfriend watching her with superior satisfaction as she toyed with her boyfriend's hair.

“Oh, yeah, know what I heard,” Levi said, batting her away. “I heard Aaliyah failed.”

“Garrett did say something,” Colton said. He grinned wickedly. “From all he's told me, her failing a grade is the least of the Sizemores’ issues with her.” He nudged Penny. “Could be the opening you need to move back.”

“How’s that going to work,” Penny wondered out loud. “Aaliyah is about to age out. How’s she going to do another year of school?”

“Dunno,” Colton said. “Maybe she won’t finish.”

“Who really cares,” Levi said. “She’s such a nasty…,” he looked at his girlfriend’s scowl, “person.”

A stab hit Penny right in the chest as she thought over Aaliyah. She disliked her, very much, but knowing she was aging out was rough. Not only did her mother never come for her, but Aaliyah had been an adoption candidate. She opened all paths to gain a family, and nothing came of it.

Colton did have a point; this could be her opening into moving closer to Hodge. The Sizemores had expressed some interest in her last year, and once Aaliyah aged out, they would no longer get a stipend. She would have to bring up the Sizemores the next time she met with her caseworker.

The double date ended with Levi’s girlfriend’s mother picking them up. The fast food place wasn’t a grueling walk from Colton’s, so they opted for a stroll rather than interrupt Paige and Garrett.

They didn't talk about anything specific, but Penny could sense an anxiousness coming off her friend. He fidgeted more and would not meet her eye.

They were in Colton’s driveway when he finally said, “So… what do girls do when they do that bathroom thing…?”

“You want to know if we talked about you guys," Penny smirked. “Only a little.”

“A little… good or bad?”

Penny shrugged. “It was more about pictures  and I think….” She didn't want to tell him that the girlfriend had been probing in one of those odd bullying moves girls seemed to do. “Well, she asked for some advice, but I didn't really have any. I've only put up two pictures of us, and none of them were kissing.”

Her cheeks grew hot. She had practically forgotten that the probing was that specific and personal. She froze on the front step, her mind racing for an excuse to leave rather than to wait for Paige. She stole a look at him and found his round face red too.

“So, um… I have thought about that…,” Colton said, failing to sound casual. “My mom… when I said you were my girlfriend, she was really strict about not putting any kind of pressure on you… so I haven't said anything about… kissing….”

“Then …you want to?”

“Well, of course! Levi and Gage says it's great. And Gage isn't pretending this time. I caught him with an actual girl by the lockers. And Garrett and Paige always look really happy, so….” He turned more scarlet. He cleared his throat. “D-do you want to?”

It hadn’t crossed her mind to kiss Colton, or anyone, until that moment in the bathroom. “Um… I guess?”

Colton lit up, the presence of his heavy blush making him look like he was glowing red. They planted their feet, squaring up to each other. It took a minute before they could meet each other’s eyes, and another before they moved from their frozen spots.

Penny squeezed her eyes shut, peeking to make sure she was still leaning towards Colton (him doing the exact same). His mouth bumped against hers. She held still, slowly opening her eyes to see if there was some kind of cue to what she was supposed to be doing. She pulled away when none presented. They smiled shyly at each other.

“Want to come in to wait,” Colton asked, a grin all over his face.

She shook her head. “I’m going to walk by the Sizemores’ place,” Penny said. “Put myself on their minds. Tell Paige to pick me up there?”

She immediately went to the glade, her heart thumping and a smile forming on her face. The kiss was weird, but not bad. It helped that it was Colton. They had been friends for a long time, and he had been just as awkward. She felt as if she crossed some previously unknown threshold; she was older now.

“Hodge,” she called softly. “Hodge, come here, handsome. We don’t have long.”

The unicorn appeared through the curtain. He calmly strode over, giving her a nicker and bobbing his head happily.

Penny jump-stomped through the long grass to reach him. She reached out to stroke his cheek, but he jerked back. She looked over her shoulder, saw nothing, and reached again.

Hodge flattened his ears and snorted. He backed up, tossing his head.

“What’s wrong?” She tried to pet him, shushing him soothingly, but it agitated him more. “Hodge?”

She recoiled, her heart dropping into her stomach. The book Mother Mary Clare had, the entry on unicorns, said they were calmed only by virgin maidens. They were hostile to non-virgin women, and outright aggressive to men.

"But… Hodge,” Penny pleaded, tears forming in her eyes, “it was a kiss. Not even open-mouthed or anything.” She reached for him. “Hodge, please….”

He let loose a high-pitched, angry bray and took off for the woods.

-----------------------------------

The guess with Colton's mom was right; she clearly saw her son was developing a crush and just noped them from being foster candidates. I've grown to like Colton's unnamed mom, lol. I would have to double check the timeline, but I think Penny is 12/13 now. She's more of a "late bloomer" in the dating and romance (also call she's being a normal pre-teen) compared to the others. The first part of this would be March/April, the second part would be late June/July.

Penny's animal friend being a unicorn was always going to present an interesting problem as she got older. Hodge rebuffing her over a very simple, three second kiss was one of the earliest scenes I had with the two of them.

The group home allowed Penny to stay after winter break ended, but made it very clear that they were the most temporary of temporary. Her caseworker ended up extending her search to the very edges of the school district, with multiple warnings that she may need to prepare to switch schools. Those conversations were frequent once the school year ended.

Hodge was her solace. She spent nearly every day in the glade, brushing him smooth and detangling his mane. His body had lightened to a glowing silver, and she could see golden dapples emerging on his haunches. His mane and tail tuft were now white with waves and loose curls; the tail tuft ended with a tight, little spiral that half the time she left alone if she wasn’t fluffing it out.

She flipped through her book lazily, humming in mild amusement. “You having cloven hooves means you need to chew cud… Oh, wait, pigs don’t chew cud. I guess that means you don’t need to? So… you’re like a horse and pig mixed together?” She laughed at Hodge’s loud snort. “Sorry, I know you’re unique. I’m trying to figure out what I can.”

She spent the next forty minutes combing out his mane and weaving pink and yellow ribbons into it. She brushed his forelock with her fingers, fluffing it up around his black, spiral horn. Her fingertips lightly touched the base and traced up to the tip.

“There must be something I can use to take care of it,” Penny mused. “Like with your hooves. There’s hoof polish. Doesn’t feel like the same thing as your hooves though....” She heartily patted his neck. “Go ahead. Act natural.”

Hodge blinked his large eyes at her before he went to graze. She took out her phone, recording five-second clips and taking pictures from different angles.

Her Instagram account had been gaining hundreds of followers a week since she started showing photos of Hodge. There was much debate in the comments about if he was real or not, with the final verdict typically being the non-believers badgering the others into accepting unicorns did not exist.

She never tipped the scale one way or another, never responded to comments at all except to say thanks if someone said something particularly meaningful or offered a good suggestion. The arguing was too amusing.

Hodge jerked his head up, ears pointed forward before flattening into his mane.

“What's—?”

Penny heard it too. The unmistakable sounds of ATVs, and fast approaching. She rushed at Hodge, waving her arms and hissing “shoo”. The unicorn gave her a hurt, reproachful look before moving at a slow trot through the ivy curtain. She raced for the same curtain, jerking still, and spinning back to collect her things.

The ATVs crashed into the glade seconds later. She guiltily put her bucket and backpack behind her back, nervously smiling at Garrett and Colton as they sped by. Colton’s ATV made a wide turn, flattening more of the ivy, and doubled back to her.

“Penny?” He turned off the engine, blinking at her in surprise. “What… what are you doing out here?” He looked around. “How’d you get here?”

“Walked… I’ve been taking pictures of the glade. I’m obsessed with it.”

“Right…,” Colton trailed off, looking at her as if she lost her mind. “Want a ride back?”

Her eyes darted to the treeline. She could sense Hodge waiting, watching, could practically see him pawing impatiently at the ground as he waited for her to call him back out.

It would be suspicious if she sent Colton away. He might even stick around–secretly or otherwise–to see why she wanted to stay.

“Yeah, sure, that’d save me a walk,” Penny said. She glanced at the bucket of horse combs and her backpack. “Umm…. Oh! Colton, look!”

She threw the bucket towards the rock when Colton turned, flinching at how red it was among the green. She shouldered her bag, and jumped on behind him, shrugging when he turned in his seat to look at her quizzically.

“Thought I saw something up on the trail,” she said sheepishly. “Ready?”

They sat on Colton’s front step drinking soda. He caught her up on his adventures with Levi and Gage (whose girlfriend never did materialize over the school year). Destiny and Whitney had found some other girls into crochet and knitting, so were regulated more as friends that just exchanged waves in the hall. Penny had guessed as much having found herself hanging out with either the guys or the girls, and gradually more with the guys over the seventh grade year, but it sounded as if they hadn’t texted or spoken to Colton and the guys since summer started.

“Not much different from you,” Colton said.

“Me? I haven't ditched you guys,” Penny protested.

“Not as obviously, but you don't hang out like you did. You come by sometimes and text, but you're always running off to do your photo thing.” Colton drained his bottle. “But Garrett says it's normal. You hit seventh grade, new people and all that, and it's worse if you're girls and guys.”

It felt a bit unfair and as if Colton was blaming her. Gage had ditched them long before she started pulling away. Levi too. She was managing her photography, keeping under the radar at the home, keeping her grades up to add no additional concerns or reasons to be moved, and keeping Hodge a secret. Having any social life was doing well. Colton had no idea.

“You know… you mentioned that place wanting to get rid of you…,” Colton trailed off. “I said something about it to my mom…”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “She complains me and Garrett are too much. I thought maybe she’d want to take a try at having a girl around.”

“You asked her to foster me?” 

Little bubbles of happiness burst in her chest. Colton’s mom seemed nice. She got along with Colton and Garrett. The best yet, Hodge was in the backyard.

Her smile faltered. “Oh… I think it takes a long time to get approved for that….”

“Yeah… she said that,” Colton said uneasily. “And… um, isn’t sure it’s a great idea….”

A cold wave washed over her. She was still damaged goods, even according to her friend’s mother. She set her mostly empty bottle aside and got to her feet.

“I should head back. I got to show my face around the home soon so they don’t worry.”

“Garrett can—.”

“I got my bus pass; it’s fine,” Penny dismissed. “Text later? We can all hang out or something.”

She thought of going back for her grooming bucket, or to say a proper goodbye to Hodge, but didn’t want to risk Colton or Garrett driving through the glade again. She alternated between a brisk walk and jog to the bus stop, then promptly sat and cried on her knees until it came.

---

Her caseworker looked much more exhausted than during previous visits. She no longer had pink streaks in her hair. There was a dullness to the blonde locks, and she had started the habit of wearing large frames to filter out blue-light; she previously complained about headaches and blamed the screens.

Penny sat still in her chair, her green eyes wandering to her open phone whenever she was sure the caseworker was too preoccupied to notice. A small, satisfied smile tugged at her lips at the 9.9 million count next to the followers label.

“It’s not looking good….” Penny quickly covered her phone and watched the caseworker. “The home feels they’ve been more than generous… I did reach out to the Lamberts to see if they’d clarify on the aggression thing, but they didn’t want to talk. No hope getting that expunged.”

“Figures.”

“The Sizemores did express some interest. Not enough to take you tomorrow, but they do have you on their mind from time to time.” She glanced over the top of her glasses. “They have your previous foster sister, right?”

“As far as I know.”

“Could be an option then….”

She shuttered at the idea of once more living with Aaliyah. The home was full of kids worse, but in the group setting there were other targets.

“What about foster to adopt? That could open other options.”

Penny vigorously shook her head.

“Right… Well, that leaves really only one path forward, and I was trying to avoid it….” She removed her glasses with a heavy sigh, and knitted her fingers in front of her. “Your home has been impressed with your behavioral shift, and that’s another reason they won’t keep you anymore. They recommended a home for girls your age. …It’s not in your school district.”

The girls’ home was over an hour away, closer to the city. She would be bumped down into a middle school for eighth grade. This home was more strict with outings, usually needing a chaperon or buddy for even basic walks. Visiting Hodge would be completely out of the question unless she snuck out in the middle of the night, and the buses wouldn’t be running then.

“I think that’s all… You’ll have the weekend to pack up. They want you moved before the first day. Complete fresh start and all.” The caseworker pinched at her eyes and stifled a small yawn. “Sorry I couldn't get it worked out for you. You're one of the nice ones. If all my cases were like you, I wouldn't be going back to school to find something else.”

“Oh… I had a feeling you were quitting,” Penny muttered. 

“Changing careers isn't quitting.  …Some of these other kids are vicious though. All I want is to help, but they couldn't care less.” She cleared her throat and straightened. “Anyway, questions?”

“Yeah….” Penny fiddled with her phone, keeping her eyes down. “I wasn’t always an adoption candidate, so… was there some kind of update with my mom?”

The caseworker raised an  overtweezed eyebrow. She went back to her computer, typed something, and propped her face up with her hand. She had a glazed expression. She gave a shrug.

“It doesn’t say anything specific. Says you were given up at birth, so you not being a candidate until recently is kind of weird. Let’s see…,” she scrolled, “yeah, nothing specific. My guess is there was some kind of contact between her and the system, but all that evaporated. Either she flat out said she wasn’t able to get her life together before you aged out, or she just fell off the map.”

“She was keeping tabs on me?” It made sense considering Aisling was her caretaker when she was small. “Is there anything in there about my aunt? Aisling Fox, or she might be under Sister Mary Agnes.”

“Nothing… There were inquiries made about where you were sent after your first home changed administrations, but it doesn’t give any names.” She leaned into the back of her chair. “Unless they suddenly appear in the next day or two, you’re still going to be sent to that girls’ home. I wouldn’t waste your energy thinking about this.”

It was the first real instance that a caseworker told her that Keena had tried to keep in her life. Something had changed that.

It was also the first time she had been told Aisling was looking for her. She had known that instinctively, but it was nice to hear it said out loud.

The more pressing issue was this move. It was imminent and she saw no way out of it.

She sighed heavily as she waited for her bus. She opened her phone, went to the camera, and turned it on herself. She took a breath and hit record.

“Hey! Behind the photos. I’m Penny. A foster kid, about to be moved again. Hodge pictures will be on hiatus for a bit.” Her eyes teared. “Sorry.”

She uploaded it to her Instagram and tucked her phone away.

Aisling was probably still looking for her, but if Keena had truly given her up this time, entertaining adoption could keep her from being moved too far. She could always sabotage her placement if the parents started to seriously consider keeping her, give Keena or Aisling more time to find her.

She stayed seated as her bus to the home drove off. She took the one that came out near Colton’s.

Hodge was half in the glade. The ivy curtain was draped over his back like a cape. He gave a happy nicker as soon as he spotted her, but did not trot over. He lowered his head and went back to grazing.

She sank onto her usual rock. Her eyes grew more and more teary as she watched Hodge until she couldn’t hold it back anymore. She hugged her knees and buried her face in them to stifle her sobbing. She was jolted out of her hopelessness by Hodge knocking her off the rock with a hard nosing.

She gave a watery laugh, hugging him around his face and then again around the neck once she stumbled up to her feet.

“I’ll come back,” she said. “They won’t keep us apart. I swear it.”

------------------------------

Where I mostly grew up, it was rural so after sixth grade you went to a combination junior-senior high school. It's not surper uncommon in non-rural areas. More common is having a middle school in the equation, so I figured where Penny was since leaving NY was rural WV and now she's being moved to slightly less rural WV.

And anything else I was going to say is gone because I'm having "what's that" shouted at me.