Loose ｡ Henry Mills [2]

10 - SPIDEY SENSES

Teresa could feel everyone's eyes on her as she walked down the sidewalk the next day. Brown, blue, green, and hazel pierced her skin like razors and only reminded her of the horrific nightmare that had caused the twenty-degree weather. She hated being the center of attention, and it showed throughout the day, as during her shift, she must have went off on at least a half-dozen people until Granny suggested that she take the day off. Knowing that Granny was right, that she needed one day where she didn't have to wait tables or babysit Neal, she went on a hunt, as that always seemed to clear her troubled mind.

She glided through the woods with ease, quiet as the wind as her footsteps barely made a sound against the autumn leaves and fallen branches, holding a notched arrow loosely in between her fingers, ready to fire, her quiver of arrows secured around her torso. Platinum-blonde strands moved gracefully with the wind as she walked, the sky above her turning a nasty shade of gray as large storm clouds rolled in. She completely forgot about the weather forecast she watched with Snow and David that morning. The girl knew that her friend would be mad at her for hunting in the rain, but Teresa also knew that she needed this hunt more than anything right now.

Spotting a rabbit, the girl came to an abrupt stop and raised her bow. Teresa drew back the bowstring and took aim, breathing steady as her cerulean-blue eyes watched the hare's every movement. Its fur was brown and damp, most likely from its watching hole, and its nose twitched as it sniffed at the ground. It looked smaller than the usual rabbits she caught, but Granny would love it no matter what. As long the elderly woman could make her rabbit stew, Granny didn't really care what size rabbit the archer got for her.

Just as she was preparing to fire the arrow, she heard a rustle. On instinct, her head snapped toward the left and as ears zoned in on the sound, she could identify it as footsteps. One pair, by the sounds of it.

The platinum-blonde's nose twitched as she watched the rabbit take off at the sound of a twig snapping beneath a shoe. She threw her back against the base of a tree and waited for the person to come her way. Usually, the teenager wasn't one to panic easily, but right now her palms were sweating so much that her knuckles had turned white just so she could keep her bow in her hand and her breathing was uneven, classic signs of a coming panic attack. All she could think about was Hyde and if, by some chance, these were his footsteps, what he would do to her. Flashes of her nightmare began to invade her vison, only making her feel worse. If she wasn't wearing her mother's crystal pendent, it would start snowing.

The footsteps grew closer, the sound of snapping twigs torturing her as she waited to see who it was, and when the person made themselves visible, her instincts kicked in. She threw her elbow up into the person's face before swiping out their feet. In a flash, she was hovering over them, a knife pressed against their throat and eyes blazing. Her knuckles turned white around the handle of her skinning knife and her jaw set as she glared down at them, but her eyes soon softened as they met a pair of soft brown orbs that were staring up at her in shock.

Henry Mills's nose was bleeding as he laid as still as the dead beneath her, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he stared up at her wearily.

Teresa's expression mirrored his own as she fell back into the dirt and shakily dropped her knife. "Henry, what ─ what are you doing here?" She was breathless. The girl averted her eyes as she clenched her trembling hands into fists to calm herself down. It's not Hyde. It's only Henry. It's only Henry.

Henry let out a groan as he sat up, bringing a hand up to stretch his jaw and wipe away the blood that fell from his nostrils. "God, Teresa, you have a hard elbow. Remind me to never sneak up on you again." He was trying to lighten the mood a little by letting out a small laugh afterward, but her expression remained the same, causing him to worriedly sigh.