He chuckled a little. "You know, you're really bad at lying." Yeah started to take off his jacket, the cold beginning to flood in. If they had been at school, Fern would have frozen before Zavian was seen giving his jacket to her, not that he wouldn't feel the need to, he just. Couldn't. In that moment, he figured he was safe. It was just for a little anyway. He laid his jacket on her shoulders.
i'm bored who wants to do a one-on-one? (closed)
Her cheeks flushed. "Th-thanks," she mumbled, grateful for the warmth his jacket provided. It felt really nice, and pretty soon she wasn't shivering anymore. As stubborn as she felt like being, she decided that it wasn't worth it, not while he was being so kind to her. She tried to hide her smile as she looked back towards the forest again.
"Did you want to-" he cleared his throat, awkwardness trying to close it "-go check it out?" He was scared to be honest. Somehow, he trusted her. She had judged him as everyone else had, but didn't seem to hesitate to change the judgment. Maybe it'll be different.
Fern turned back to him, her face breaking into an uncertain smile. “Sure,” she replied. “That sounds like fun.”
Without realizing it, he took her hand and began to run towards the forest. He opened the fence gate and continued, excitement flooding over him. No matter how many times he went into there, he had the same excitement every time.
Fern blushed as he took her hand, but didn’t do anything to stop him. In fact, she kind of enjoyed the rush that came from it. His excitement was not only cute, but contagious, she realized, as she began to feel excited too.
He raced past the front line of trees knowing exactly which path to take. He looked over his shoilder to make sure she was still there and smiled at her. This was his favorite place to be. "Watch out, it's steep." He continued down a steep hill, careful of rotting wood and mud.
She followed carefully, though not less enthusiastic. She was smiling too. It finally felt like he was being himself, and it made her happy to see him so cheery. The forest felt almost magic.
He made his was down the hill until it level off into a limestone bed beside the creek. He stopped at the edge. The creek spread for a few feet before becoming the rest of the forest. To the left and right, the limestone continued further down the creek. It lasted for a little, he had walked to both ends and back. He sighed at the beauty. It wasn't waterfall beauty, but it was natural, no mask to cover it.
Fern trailed behind him, in awe of the beautiful scenery. She took it all in with wonder, gazing at the creek and drinking in the clean feel of it. She didn’t realize that she was beaming as she took in all of the beauty of the forest, thinking how much she would love to try and capture it in a painting; though she doubted that even her best artwork would compare to the real thing.
He looked to her smiling which made him smile. He then felt something in his hand…Looking down, he quickly let go, heat rising to his cheeks. "Yeah, it's amazing." He walked closer to the stream hoping to cover the face that he let go. He put his hand in it and let it gently run past his fingers as it ran further down.
Fern was a little disappointed at him letting go of her hand, but she was still filled with elation from the forest, so she let it go. She didn't expect to care about holding his hand in the first place, yet here she was. She crouched down next to him, copying him as she ran her fingers through the gentle water. She tried to hide the blush creeping up with her hair.
He couldn't help but glance at her as she came close. Seeing her blush made him smirk a little. Or maybe it was a genuine smile, he couldn't tell. What are you doing?! He stood up and pointed downstream. "Down there, there are some pretty cool plants."
She followed his gaze. “Okay, Let’s go!” She agreed, standing and brushing herself off. She smiled at Zavian, putting his jacket all the way on.
He smiled as he began towards downstream, going fast amd not dating to grab her hand again. What are you so afraid of? He jumped over puddles and off of the limestone, onto muddy ground. He had done this so many times, he knew exactly where to place his feet.
Fern followed carefully, uncertain and curious but also having fun. She tried her best to emulate what he was doing, copying his moments as best she could, though she still moved at a much slower pace. She wondered if Zavian noticed she was beginning to really lag behind.
Zavian found uis way quickly to another part of tye limestone bed, looking behind to see Fern. His heart rate speeds up. You left her?! "Fern?" He called out a few times before looking around.
Fern hadn't realized just how far she had fallen behind until she looked up and Zavian wasn't there. She heard her name being called, so she responded in kind. "Zavian?" she yelled back, unsure where he was, but facing the direction she heard the call come from.
A twin snapped behind him and he whipped around. She wasn't there, but something had been. He wasn't sure what, but it wasn't her. "Fern!" Hus tone was more urgent. There was never been anyone else back here, human or larger animals. Or at least, not to his knowledge. "Fern!"
"Zavian!" she yelled back, her tone making her nervous. "I'm fine! I just fell behind! I'll just follow you!" She glanced around before taking a careful step forward.
"No, stay where you are!" He could hear her better now. Everything was making him on edge. A simple breeze sent him twirling around. "I think I'm almost to you!"
She paused mid-step, frozen. She was glad to have his jacket as a breeze sent a shiver through her. "Okay!" she shouted, waiting. She didn't know why, but she felt safe. The thought that Zavian was there calmed her down, even if she couldn't see him.
A crunch behind his brought his heart rate up. There was still nothing behind him. Then, the noise started to get closer. And more frequent. He quickened his step, anxiousness filling every inch of his body. Everything was beginning to blur, he just needed to make sure she was safe. Where is she?! He seemed to bounce off the limestone bed, his foot not sinking even an inch into the mud. He quickly pushed past brush. He wasn't sure why he was so worried. The forest wasn't big enough for real trouble to live in here. Maybe it was the fact that she was alone and had never done this. Maybe it was- No. He just needed to make sure she was safe. He came to a tree, pushing past the leaves. She stood there. "Thank goodness." He ran up to her, pulling her into an embrace. The noises stopped and they were left to silence. He held on for a long moment before letting go, realizing what he had done. "Are you okay?" Heat filled his cheeks. Idiot idiot idiot.
Heat flooded Fern's face as well, her face definitely red. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, a bit surprised but also relieved. She smiled at him. "I just got a little bit lost, I guess. Sorry to scare you." She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, embarrassed.
"No, it's fine, I just-" He sighed, running his hand through his hair "-I got ahead sorry." He was grateful that whatever it had been was gone. Or hopefully was.
“It’s okay,” she said, smiling and shaking it off. “You didn’t mean to. You don’t have to apologize.” She looked around at the forest again before bringing her gaze back to his face. “So are we still going or what?”
He thought about the twig snaps. "Let's go back." It was one thing if it was just him, but putting her at risk was something else. He'd probably come out later to see what it was.
Fern looked at him in surprise, a bit disappointed as well. “Why? Just a moment ago you were dying to go,” She said, confused. “I’ll try to keep up this time.”
"I don't think we should. There was something, I don't know what, but there was something. It was following me." He looked to her and sighed. "If you really want to, we can. But, I don't know."
Fern frowned at his apprehension, but figured he knew better than she did, so she went along with it. "Okay," she agreed, trying not to show her disappointment. "I trust you." The words surprised her, and she didn't even realize they were true until they were out of her mouth. She smiled at him slightly.