Lovely.
The moon allowed a small sliver of its light to escape through the branches above me. I thought it enough to see, but my foot snagged on something. It snapped. I stumbled two steps and then lost my balance. My hands burned as I caught myself on the rocks.
I sat there, half cocked on my hands and knees, welling in my inward disgust, when something wet touched my ear. Instinctively I jumped back, catching myself with my raw hands. It stung, but I didn't care. I could barely see.
Wetness brushed my hand, and I let out a short high-pitched scream. My head felt light and then I heard a bark amongst the soft scampering in the leaves. My chest seized up. Dogs terrified me.
The soft furry creature nudged his head against me, and I succumbed to another scream as I tried to back away. Laughter filled my ears and I clenched my teeth.
The forest path lit up around me, making me blink several times until everything came into focus. A teenaged boy about my age, with ashy, slightly disheveled hair, and very striking green eyes, stood there with a flashlight, looking amused at my dire situation. My stomach tightened in a knot.
"It's just a puppy," he said, revealing a surprisingly bright smile. I looked away.
He grabbed the small puppy and brought it over to me, making me look.
I scrunched my face up, trying not to scream. "I'm afraid of dogs," I said.
He laughed again.
I clenched my fists. "Hilarious. I'm glad you're enjoying the show."
"How can you be afraid of this little pup?" He rubbed the riley little thing until it jumped up and licked his chin. He laughed again. "Come on," he said, trying to show me the dog.
"Don't." I held up my skinned hand.
"Okay, okay." He smiled again.
I quickly looked down at the dirt I knelt in. Angrily, I stood up, brushing the pine needles from my knees. For some insane reason, this too seemed to make him laugh. I scowled.
"What are you doing out here anyway?" he asked.
"Digging for worms." I refused to look at him. I knew he was smiling. "I was looking for the restrooms."
"Where's your flashlight?"
"The batteries died."
"Here, let me help you," he said, putting the dog down. He quickly shooed the puppy away and it eagerly ran off into the trees. He held out his hand.
I refused to look. This was too embarrassing. "I don't need help. I'm fine, thank you." Brushing off my jeans, I started to walk past him down the path. As fate would have it, I tripped, again.
I stumbled two steps, readying myself for the inevitable burn of my hands, when he caught my arm, pulling me up.
I was about to say something. A grumble. A thank you riddled with annoyance. But all of my thoughts disintegrated into thin air as I accidently met his gaze. A flush of prickles ran down my back.
He looked spooked. The smirky sarcasm disappeared. He tilted his head to the side, and audibly inhaled.
"It's you," he whispered in a voice that seemed two octaves lower than it had been.
His hand still gripped my arm as I stared back at his oddly mesmerizing green orbs. His irises pulsed, growing larger, blocking out the white with their intense jade, and then just as quickly, they shrunk back, melting into an almost iridescent hue of gold.
My heart pounded like crazy and my body shook. What had I just seen? Flashes of the wolves screamed across my mind and I squeezed my lids shut.
I'm going mad. I'm losing it.
His hand seemed to burn against my bare arm. He smelled of rich pine, and I damned my senses, wondering why I was still standing there.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" My voice surprised me. I stole a peek.
"What?"
He looked like I had startled him from a trance and he blinked a few times, clearing his throat. "Nothing." He shook his head and looked down.
It felt like I could breathe again. My heart, unfortunately, didn't comply. I did my best to tune it out. "No," I said, pressing the issue, "not nothing. I saw them change. They used to be green. Now they're gold."
I began to question my sanity. Perhaps if we had taken our time getting out here, I wouldn't be still standing here interrogating this guy.
"The moon," he said, pulling me from my thoughts.
"What?"
He looked pale. He fidgeted next to me, making me even more edgy. He pointed his finger and I looked up. The moon, high above the branches, cascaded a soft hue over the multi colored autumn leaves. "My eyes sometimes reflect the light. The moon light probably hit them at a funny angle."
I guess it made sense, but why did I still feel skeptical? I dared to steal another peek. His normal looking emerald hues stared back. The moonlight had to have been playing tricks on me. But why did he seem so nervous? He seemed ready to bolt.
I stared at him until he looked up from his sneaker and our gazes locked. His body, mirrored mine, frozen. I could almost hear the rhythm in his chest. He cocked his head, fear and confusion plastered across his face.
"What?" I asked. My voice sounded tight and foreign to me. Something very familiar pooled from his pores, strangling me like infused oxygen.
I saw his nostrils expand and slowly, his irises began to dilate.
This is not happening.
The sound of his throat clearing made me jump. To my horror, he still had a grip on my arm. He seemed to notice that too. He dropped my arm, almost stumbling as he stepped back.
"Who are you?" he asked, his liquid amber eyes wide.
"What?" I told myself to make up a name. Sally Hemmingway sounded good to me. "What do you mean, who am I?" Everything in me wanted to run. "Who are you?"
The boy roughly ran his hand through his hair. I could hear his breath coming ragged. With an odd hunched over stance, he began to move around me. I stood my ground. Prickles trickled down my back as I watched him circle me. His nostrils flared, creating a visible wisp of breath against the air.
Every muscle in my body tensed.
"What are you doing?"
He didn't answer. He continued to move around me like a wild animal.
Another shudder ran through me. I kept still, afraid to move.
The boy stopped in front of me, his warm breath still blowing visibly. I did everything I could not to inhale it.
"Who are you?" he asked again. The concern in his voice took me by surprise.
"Charlotte."
The word came out before I could stop it. I bit my tongue.
"That's not what I mean. How did you get here? What are you doing here?"
"I'm camping with my dad..."
The boy closed the distance between us so fast I felt dizzy. I froze as he sucked in the air around my neck and up through my hair. I couldn't think. Something about the scent of pine and musk lifting from his skin, so familiar, yet distant, discombobulated my senses. No. No. This wasn't right. I didn't even know him.
"Stop it," I said, stumbling away from him. I grabbed a fallen tree branch and aimed it at the stranger. "Stay away from me."
He stepped back, shaking his head as if lost in thought. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. You just smell..." The boy shook his head again. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I saw you earlier and I thought...never mind. You're not."
"I'm not what?"
"Nothing." He chuckled tightly and a small smile teased his lips.
"Nothing? You're driving me crazy."
"I am?" The grin grew.
Did he really think I was flirting with him? I scowled. "That is not what I'm talking about."
He chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"You."
I looked away. I didn't need this.
"Were you really going to take me out with a stick?"
"I still might."
I glanced at him by mistake - his grin ridiculous. I ground my teeth. Why did I look at him again?