Zavian walked outside. "I know what I see." Everything was grey from the storm the day before. One cloud covered the sky. It didn't look like it was going to rain, just like it was recovering from rain. He looked down from the sky and into the forest past the fence before looking back to her. "What now?"
She shrugged. “Dunno,” she replied. If only I had thought this out better. “I like it out here though. It’s cool.” She smiled at him.
"Yeah." He had an average yard, a square patch of grass with two trees that grew over the fence. "The forest is so much better though."
She looked over to the forest. “Yeah, it looks pretty cool,” she said wistfully. “Do you go there a lot?”
"Yeah, almost everyday." Zavian sighed. "That is, if my grandma's having a good one." It was really amazing back there. Sometimes he'd stay back there for hours. There are still bars back there suprisingly, so whenever his grandma needed him, she just called.
“It must be nice, having something like that,” Fern sighed. “My house is always hectic; there’s not really anywhere to escape to.” The forest and yard were a lot different than the organized chaos Fern was used to.
"It's not that it's physically hectic, my mind starts running and then without realizing it, my legs are too." He couldn't imagine living with anyone else. His grandma was the only person he remembered living with.
“That makes sense,” she commented, glancing at him. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep away the chill, feeling dumb for not bringing a jacket or anything. She looked back off towards the forest with curiousity.
He looked to her, smiling a little to her curiosity. He noticed a small shiver as she looked to the forest. "Are you cold?"
“No…” she brushed it off quietly, not really sure why she was lying. She shivered again.
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.
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.