HUm...i'm sensing some kind of joke from yulia that's she's going to regret...In this moment yulia needs lena more than lena needs yulia but i guess that it won't be for too long...I love the way they interact with each other...But i'm afraid that they both are playing with fire and lena will be hurt again...

Dare! you have made me smile with everysingle update!

$in---Tell your sister that your nutty friends said she should come in and join the fun! :D

Ann t..A.T.u.---I was inspired by my 8th grade English teacher. She has a serious case of arachnophobia and one time she was driving in her pick up when a spider came down from the ceiling and landed on her shoulder. She freaked *big* time, swatting in the air everywhere and while the truck was still moving, opened the door and rolled out!!! LMAO! Her cousin was laughing so hard that she barely had time to take control the steering wheel before she crashed into a tree! Her cousin told us that when she stopped the truck, she could still see my teacher rolling around in the grass trying to get the spider off!! :laugh:

guesshoo---Lena can be evil, can't she? :heh:

samegirl---Oh you just *wait* to see what I have planned for Yulia. I can't wait to post it!!!!! Her prank is going to backfire on her so bad! I'm glad I can make you smile. :)

Chapter 7

Something slightly off the trail caught Lena’s eye, so she decided to take a closer look.

I wonder if it’s what I think it is she thought as she went to investigate.

“Ah ha! Look at this! I knew I saw it!” Lena exclaimed as she held up a skull.

“What is it?” Yulia asked.

“Well first, see the long teeth? You can tell it’s a carnivore. Judging by the shape of the skull, you can clearly tell it’s a member of the dog family. But notice the V-shaped marking at the top of the skull. That’s how you can tell it’s a red fox. The hint is that a red fox’s scientific name begins with a “V” so it has a “V” marking. The gray fox’s scientific name begins with a “U” so it has a “U” marking instead of the “V”. Lena explained.

“Wow” Yulia said, impressed. “How do you remember all this stuff?”

“I love to read. I’m always reading the latest nature book and when I do watch TV, it’s always on some animal program. Especially the Crocodile Hunter. Most of the knowledge I have about reptiles has come from him. Some say he’s crazy, I just say he’s overly passionate sometimes.” Lena said as she laughed at her last comment.

“Speaking of the Crocodile Hunter, obviously that’s one of my interests. Since we’re going to live with each other for the next year, we should probably get to know each other a little better if we want to come out of this experience with our sanity still intact. What are some of your interests besides piano and ballroom dancing? Oh and shopping, of course.” Lena said.

“Hmmm, well, I love music. I love to listen to it and I love to play it. It’s such a great way to express feelings without directly saying them.” Yulia said.

“I know what you mean.” Lena commented.

“In Russia I used to party a bit, but sometimes there are just times where I like to stay at home and lounge around.” Yulia said.

“Oh yeah? I wouldn’t have thought that you were one to just lie around. You seem like you’re a person who’s always on the go.” Lena responded.

“Sometimes I’m like that. I start to get antsy and just have to do something to occupy my mind.” Yulia said. Wanting to change the subject Yulia asked, “So what made you decide to want a foreign exchange student to live with you for a year?”

“To be honest, it wasn’t my choice. My mom made the decision for me. She thought I was becoming a bit too anti-social and thought if I had company that I would come out of my shell.” Lena said in a voice mocking her mother’s.

“Why is it that you’re anti-social, so to speak?” Yulia asked.

“It’s complicated. But I like how I am and don’t see a reason to change. I mean, I have my music, my animals, and most importantly, myself. What more do I need?” Lena said.

A friend. Yulia thought.

yes lena needs a friend in dis one ;) and dat friend just happens to be *cough*yulia*cough* ...they should make good friends :D

thx for the update dream!!! :done:

Oops! Already 2 new chapters! Thank you d2d28 ! Well... I really look forward to Julia`s prank. :D

What comes to
arachnophobia... well, I have it and I really don`t see it as a funny thing at all. :none: I realize that persons who don`t have that, can`t really understand how does it feel to have it and they just find it to be a very amusing thing. Good thing is that my friends have understood this, they have seen how serious thing this is to me and they don`t tease me with spiders. :rose: to my dear friends! :) Arachnophobia doesn`t restrict my life in any way but I am very grateful that I don`t have any other phobias cos they can be very restrictive.

Well, that was the lecture part. Waiting for a new chapter to coming soon ... :D

d2d Ooooooh, this is nice, nice, very nice! I like it a lot! Very funny ^0^ This is like...the first time I read a fanfic and I don't think I'd like to wait for the next chapter.

p.s. I just have to laugh at the Shania Twain moment. Don't you just love her!

yup.....lena need sime hot,gorgeous, steamy friend....:gigi:
parents r weird sometimes...if u like to hang with ur friendz al the time, they freak out...and then if u knda anti-social, they freak out also....:ithink:

tnx for the update dare2dream

That sounds good :) everybody does, and well, I think Yulia also needs a friend ;)

Great fic D2D :rose:

i just talked my sister into reading this fic :)

DY---I hope they will become good friends too.

prostrel---I'm glad your friends don't tease you with spiders. Now that I'm older I'm glad that I didn't do a prank on my teacher when I had the chance because that would've been just mean. Glad it doesn't run your life though.

uhaku---Yay! I'm glad to see you post here! I'm glad you picked up on the Shania thing. LOL Who would've thought that when I PMed you about that trip to Chicago that I would've wound up on the DVD from that concert!!!

warx---I totally agree about parents...they can never make up their minds on when to worry! But, that's what they're there for, to make sure we're safe. :)

tatu_rocks---I think Yulia needs a friend too.

$in---Woohooo! Glad to hear you talked her into it! :D

Chapter 8

When they came to a small clearing, Lena decided this was a good spot to set up camp for the night.

“Thank God! My feet are killing me!” Yulia complained.

“You mean to tell me all the miles at the mall in high heels didn’t prepare you for something like this?” Lena joked.

“I do have a life outside the mall. I don’t know where you’ve gotten this idea that I live at the mall.” Yulia said, defending herself.

“Okay, I’ll stop with the mall comments. Do you like fish? I could catch some for dinner if you want since the river is still close by.” Lena offered.

“How are you going to catch any fish? You don’t have any equipment.” Yulia said.

“I have all the equipment I need right here.” Lena said as she held out her hands.

“I don’t get it.” Yulia said with a confused look on her face.

“You’ve never seen people fish with just their hands? Come on! I’ll show you. It’ll be fun.” Lena said.

“Alright I’ll go. But on one condition: no funny stuff!! No pulling me in the river, no pretending to drown, no nothing!” Yulia said.

“Deal.” Lena said. “Let’s go!”

There is no way she can do this. No way. Fish are not stupid enough to just swim right by her hands. Yulia thought as she watched Lena knee deep in water with her hands perfectly still just beneath the surface.

“Catch!” Lena yelled as she threw a fish over her shoulder to Yulia, who was waiting on the shore.

At the sight of a fish flying right by her head, Yulia’s eyes got wide as she watched it flop around on the ground, desperately trying to make its way back to the river. Well I’ll be damned.

“Told you I could do it!” Lena yelled over her shoulder with a smile on her face. “How many do you want?”

“Two will be fine!” Yulia yelled back.

Four fish later, Lena came out of the water with a triumphant look on her face.

“That was luck.” Yulia remarked when Lena approached. “Just lots of luck.”

“Let’s see if you are ‘lucky’ enough to know how to cook them then in that case.” Lena said, while doing the bunny fingers as she said “lucky.”

“Point taken.” Yulia said as she stopped herself from making another sarcastic remark.

By the time they were done with dinner, the stars started to come out.

“Would you look at that? It’s a great night tonight for star gazing.” Lena said as she lay down on the grass to get a better view.

“Wow. I never get to see much of the stars back home. This is nice.” Yulia said.

“See the bear up there? That’s my favorite.” Lena said as she traced the outline with her finger.

“Bear? You mean the big dipper? It figures that *you* would see a bear.” Yulia said as she giggled.

At that moment, a gust of wind swept through the clearing, making Yulia shiver.

“Are you cold? I thought Russians were supposed to like cold weather.” Lena said.

Before Yulia could comment, Lena said “You should put on a sweatshirt tonight since we have to use my extra blanket because *someone* forgot their sleeping bag!”

At the “oh shit” look Yulia gave Lena, Lena said, “Let me guess. You ‘accidentally’ forgot to pack a sweatshirt amongst your collection of spaghetti straps, right? And once again ignored my advice?”

“Wellllll….” Yulia said, that being the only thing her brilliant mind could conjure up at the moment.

“Alright. I’ll let you wear one of my sweatshirts tonight.” Lena said as she sighed and went over to her backpack. “But no drooling on it! I will rip it off you so fast if I see one drop of drool come out of your mouth.” Lena said playfully as she gave Yulia her sweatshirt.

Once she got the sweatshirt, Yulia took a sip of her water and pretended to let it fall out of her mouth.

“Hey!” Lena said as she tried to snatch the piece of clothing out of Yulia’s hand.

Expecting this, Yulia tightened her grip on the shirt, causing a tug of war match. As she saw Lena get ready to do a major pull, Yulia let go of the shirt, sending Lena flying backwards, tripping over a log in the process and landing in a huge mud puddle.

Yulia laughed as she saw the look of complete shock on Lena’s face as she hit the ground with a big thump.

“Great! Just great! Now I’m going to have to go freaken take a dip in the river and wash off! God only knows what the hell is crawling around in the river at this time of night! Thanks a lot Prissy!” Lena spat.

“I told you I’d get you back.” Yulia said with a smile on her face as she made her way to the tent for the night. But don’t think that’s all I’m going to do.

"But don’t think that’s all I’m going to do."
oh really?
what else is she going to do? :)

guesshoo---You'll see in the next few chapters. *evil grin* Thanks so much for posting!

Chapter 9

I can’t believe she did that! It’s one thing to do it during the day time, but at night when the water is freezing cold?! I’m going to be able to cut glass by the time I’m done! Lena thought, clearly frustrated.

Angrily she marched down to the river with a small camp towel, soap, and pajamas in hand. She *better* be sleeping by the time I get back or I’ll let her have it! Lena thought.

While Lena was making her way towards the river, Yulia got an idea. She quickly grabbed the bit of fishing line they had and made her way down the same trail Lena was on. She made sure to stay quite a few paces behind Lena so that she wouldn’t be noticed.

As soon as Lena was in the river, Yulia set out to her task. She looked around the trail, trying to find a spot where she knew would be quite muddy. This is going to be perfect! Yulia thought as she tied one end of the fishing line to a tree that was right before the puddle. She rolled the ball of line to the other side of the trail and then crouched down as low as she could. Patiently Yulia waited until she heard Lena’s footprints come back up the trail and pulled the fishing line taught.

I am *so* going to let her have it in the morning! Let’s see if I make break—what the hell? Lena thought as she tripped on something. Losing her balance, she fell face first into yet another mud puddle.

“SON OF A BITCH!” Lena yelled in anger as she struggled to get herself up and clear the mud out of her eyes. She stopped her cursing streak as she heard a bit of laughter come from the bushes.

“VOLKOVA!!! Oh you are *so* going to pay for this!” Lena said as she charged towards Yulia in the bushes, taking Yulia completely by surprise.

“I’m not going to let you get away with that one!” Lena yelled as she picked Yulia up and put her over her shoulders.

“If I have to take another cold bath, so do you!” Lena said as she made her way towards the river.

As soon as Yulia realized where Lena was taking her, she began to thrash about in Lena’s hands, trying to kick herself out of Lena’s strong grip.

“Let me go!! Let me go! Come on! You’ve pulled tricks on me! What? I’m not allowed to pull any on you?!” Yulia said as she tried to reason her way out of Lena’s arms, realizing she was no match for her.

“No! If I have to freeze tonight, so do you! See if I let you borrow my sweatshirt again!” Lena said as she approached the river’s edge. “Hope you can swim!” she said as she threw Yulia into the ice cold water.

“This is war Katina!” Yulia said through chattering teeth once she made her way to the surface.

“Bring it on, Prissy! Bring_it_on!” Lena responded.

oh no, they're fighting. :grustno:
this is not good.
this is not good at all. :(

guesshoo---Don't worry too much about them fighting. It's all good and fun. Here's a chapter just for you. :rose:

Chapter 10

The next morning, not one word was spoken between the two. Yulia was intent on not speaking to Lena unless absolutely necessary. That is, until her stomach spoke for her.

Damn stomach. Why can’t you ever stop making demands of me?! Yulia thought as she stubbornly tried to avoid asking Lena for breakfast since she had the food in her pack. When Yulia’s stomach rumbled for the third time, she reluctantly decided to give in to the silent treatment.

“I need some breakfast.” Yulia stated dryly.

Without responding, Lena threw Yulia a breakfast bar.

“Because of the unplanned swimming last night, we will be leaving late today since our clothes need to dry. I’m going for a walk. I advise you to hang up your clothes.” Lena said as she headed out into the woods.

Fine Miss Grumpy-Ass. Yulia thought as she walked around their camp trying to find the best place to hang her clothes in the sun. While she was walking to what she thought would be a good spot, she quickly retracted her foot, seeing the tail of a snake. She was about to scream when she saw what she thought was blood coming from the snake’s tail. She took a closer look and saw that the snake was facing belly side up with the tongue hanging out of its mouth. Whew. It’s dead.

Suddenly, a light bulb flashed in Yulia’s head. Oh this would be too good. Sure, Lena can handle snakes, but can she handle dead snakes with blood all over them? If she gets queasy at the vet office, I bet she’ll really freak out over this! Yulia thought as she got two sticks and maneuvered them under the snake, carrying it towards their tent.

Won’t this be a pleasant surprise when she rolls up the sleeping bag? Yulia thought, evilly laughing to herself. Right before she got to the tent, Yulia thought twice and decided to get some dry leaves to put on the blanket so the snake’s blood wouldn’t get on it. After all, she had to use the sleeping bag and blanket too.

Once the snake was in place, Yulia decided to get dressed. As she was changing into her clothes, she heard something that sounded like leaves rustling. What the heck is that? Yulia wondered as she listened closer to the sound. Oddly, it sounded like it was coming from underneath the sleeping bag. No way! It can’t be! Yulia thought as she slowly went to turn up the corner of the sleeping bag. When she pulled the sleeping bag up far enough, Yulia blankly stared at the now empty pile of leaves.

What?! Where’s the snake?! It was here just a minute ago!!! It was dead!! DEAD!!! Yulia thought as she frantically began looking for the snake. She didn’t have to look long as she heard a loud hiss come from the opening of the tent.

Frozen in horror, Yulia looked towards the closed door flap of the tent. There, blocking her only way of escape, was the very alive snake.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” Yulia shrieked as she realized she had no way out. If someone didn’t know any better, it would’ve sounded like Yulia was getting attacked by some monstrous animal.

Hearing Yulia’s scream, Lena’s eyes shot open and she took off for their camp in lightning speed, getting the knife she always carried on her belt out in the process. Fearing the worst, Lena bolted into the camp, her eyes shooting in every direction to try and locate Yulia.

“YULIA!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!” Lena yelled as she began to panic.

“LENA!!! OH THANK GOD!!! I’m in the tent!!! HURRY!!!” Yulia yelled as she tried to create as much distance from the snake as possible.

Not wasting any time on the zipper, Lena tore through the opening of the tent with her knife, ready to go inside and hurt whoever or whatever dare threatened Yulia. Seeing Yulia with only her bra and pants on, Lena immediately looked around the tent for a stranger, thinking someone tried to physically attack her. When she didn’t see anyone besides Yulia in the tent, Lena asked “What is wrong?! What’s going on?!”

“Watch out!!!! There’s an enchanted snake right at your feet! It’s possessed!! It came back from the dead! Who knows what it’ll do next!” Yulia said, clearly frightened.

Before Yulia even finished what she was saying Lena had spotted the snake and went into serious mode, putting all her concentration on the snake. Once she got hold of it and got it out of the tent, she relaxed some, now realizing that it was non-venomous.

“You had me worried sick over a snake? A SNAKE?! My gawd Prissy! I thought you were being attacked!” Lena said as she made her way to the tree line and let the snake go.

“Lena, it came back from the dead! Honest! It had blood coming out from its tail and its tongue was hanging out of its mouth! It was DEAD!” Yulia said, desperately trying to explain herself.

Lena couldn’t help but laugh at this. “That’s because it was an Eastern Hognose snake! It’s known for playing dead, just like an opossum does to avoid predators.” Lena explained as she continued to laugh. “I think maybe you should leave the snakes to me for a while.” Lena commented.

“Well *now* you tell me! Hey…wait a second. You actually called me Yulia!” Yulia said cheerfully.

“Ummm, no I didn’t. You must be hearing things. I mean, you *apparently* saw a dead snake. Who’s to say you’re not hearing things as well?” Lena said, trying to cover up the fact that she did call Yulia by her name. “Oh, and were you planning to put on a shirt anytime soon or did you just plan to give the animals a free peep show all day?” Lena teased as she winked at Yulia.

Blushing at that last comment, Yulia quickly covered herself with her shirt, forgetting all about prodding Lena about why, for once, she didn’t call her Prissy. As soon as Lena was out of the tent, Yulia reminisced on the event that just happened and thought with a smile, So she does care if I live or not. Even if she won’t admit it…yet.

LOL...i wonder if lena saw anything... :D

anywayz dat was the best dream! ;)

i had 2 chapters waiting for me to read...now dat i have read both...i want more!!!!!!!!................... plz? :p

I *love* this chapter!

It's funny, and sweet. I loved how Lena came charging to Yulia's rescue, even though she had been angry at Yulia for her prank.

And I had to grin at Lena's "peep show" comment!

Great stuff, keep it up! :D

Parrish

so she called volk by her first name huh?
and even winked after the peep show comment?
interesting.
interesting indeed.



ps. thanx for dedication of such a cool chapter. for you: :rose: , :kwink:

DY---I don't think Lena saw much. :p

Parrish---I'm glad you liked the chapter so much. :D And thanks for the suggestion--it fit nicely!

guesshoo---Thank *you* for reading and always posting. Thanks for the rose. :)