dallon had been calling brendon's name for a few minutes when i finally stood up from the couch and found my way to him, not filtering my annoyance with the two.
"what do you need from him?" i sighed as i walked through the open door of the bedroom they were sharing.
"will you just tell him to come in here if you see him? i know he's probably smoking, but i hate that shit and i want to...hang out with him."
"'hang out?'" i questioned. "is that like code for 'i haven't seen you for twelve hours and i want sex?'" i laughed as dallon threw a pillow at me with a grin. "i thought you wanted time away from him."
"just get him in here," he chuckled as he leaned down to pick up the pillow and rest it behind his head as he opened his laptop. "and tell him to stop smoking that shit!"
"okay, mom," i waved him away as i walked out of his room, leaving the door open on my way out.
i walked outside to find brendon sitting in the drivers seat of my truck, the window down and smoke blowing though it. i watched him put down the rather large bong when i shouted his name.
"brendon!" i smiled at his surprised face. "dallon said to 'stop smoking that shit and get in here,'"
brendon coughed and looked up at me with a glare as he abandoned the bong on my passenger seat and clambered out of the car, brushing past me into the cabin behind me. he better not have gotten any ash in my car.
i took a moment of silence after brendon left to his needy boyfriend to clear my thoughts. i loved those two, but they were very annoying at times.
at by at times, i mean basically every waking moment of every day.
i looked out at the trees and bushes, seeing the lake not too far down from here. the cabin was on a slight hill, and provided a great view on either side, trees or not.
deciding i should finish unpacking into the room i always used when me and my father used to come here, i reluctantly turned to enter the cabin, along with the presence of brendon and dallon's oh-so-noticeable sexual tension.
right as i stepped onto the old doormat i heard a small sound, it was quiet, but it was there. it also didn't sound like an animal, it felt too, human.
my mind quickly put together that the sound, in fact wasn't an animal, and was in fact, a sneeze, when i turned my head and saw a boy covering his mouth with the sleeve of his hoodie.
the boy had pale skin, but it was, almost pink. his hair was a dark brown and he had a baggie hoodie draped over his evidently small figure.
he was looking down at the ground, and i watched as he slowly inched his head upward and made eye contact with me.
i didn't move, but neither did he. a few seconds after, he took two steps back and broke our little staring contest to look me up and down, and brought his apprehensive eyes back up to mine.
he looked like a doe in headlights.
i was about to speak, to ask who the strange brunette was, when his eyes got impossibly wider and he took off in the other direction, deeper into the forest.
out of instinct i followed after the boy, and as it so often does, my mouth spoke before my mind analyzed the situation.
"wait!" i called out louder than i intended.
i watched as the brunette turned his head back towards me, while his feet kept running. it was as if it was in slow motion when his foot caught on a tree root and he tumbled down onto the forest floor, landing face first in the dirt and pine needles.
as i slowly continued to approach him, he sat up, looking dazed and took hold of his arm. he stood not too long after that, brushing dirt off of his creme sweatshirt before snapping his head up when he heard me step onto a small branch near him.
he backed away again, his arm falling to his side while he looked at me.
again not really thinking, i blurted, "hey, who are you?" mentally scolding myself directly after the words left my mouth for how harsh they sounded.
during the process of my speaking, his hand had made its way back to clutching his elbow, and he looked down just as i did to see red slowly seeping from it.
when i trailed my eyes from his arm up to his face, i noticed a small shimmer on his cheek that wasn't the seemingly natural glow that resided there already.
shit. had i made the kid cry? jesus, this is why i hate myself.
"i, uh, i'm sorry," i weakly tried. i scratched the back of my neck awkwardly when he didn't reply, looking back to his arm and talking once more.
"a-are you okay?"
shit, why did i stutter.
i flicked my arm towards the boy's, instantly making him flinch away from my hand, which resulted in me offering a weak apology, and again, no reply.
the short boy slouched awkwardly before continuing to rush in the opposite direction of me, without a single word the entire time.
i called out to him once more, this time not earning even a glance back as i watched him run deeper into the forest.
🌿
"are there any other houses around here?" i asked to both boys currently sat in front of me with their legs crossed and fingers intertwined. it was the day after i had seen the boy in the forest, and i couldn't help but think of him for a majority of the time since then. i had been so sure there were no other houses in this part of the forest, for miles. maybe he was camping in the middle of the forest or something. if so, he was probably gone by now.
brendon looked up from his phone with an eyebrow raised as he took a bite of his taco. "well i haven't been coming here my entire life so i wouldn't know." he offered bluntly before turning attention back to his phone.
"why do you ask?" dallon questioned with a much softer voice, casting a harsh glance in his boyfriend's direction.
"uh, no- no reason," i played with my hands awkwardly, clearing my throat. i stood up before they commented and walked to one of the mantles, lighting a flower scented candle and trying to further busy myself afterwards.
"dude, don't try to 'no reason' me," brendon chimed in with a laugh. "what, did you meet someone out here?"
"first off, i didn't 'no reason' you," i sighed and heard him scoff behind me as i turned around to face him as i sat back down. "and second, no. i just thought i saw a person. it was probably an animal or something." i lied through my teeth. the boy had definitely been a person, he thought, but not an ordinary one at that.
