Chapter 8

• The Spring
• Exhaustion welcomes me.
• My dream jumps forward. I just celebrated my 11th birthday and decide I want to escape the chaos going on in the house. I always loved running around the yard and hiding from the guards. My parents did not approve and would scold us when they found us, but hey, I cannot help their guards could not keep up with two small kids.
• I am running around ducking behind the bushes when a guard would come by the fence. I would think I am ninja leaping over a log when, in all honesty, I tripped over it and tried to make it look cool...
• “Jaden, you better keep up or I will leave you behind.”
• “You better not or I will tell on you. It is not like I cannot keep up with you tripping yourself here and there. You are being too noisy, sis.”
• “Oh, shut up Jaden…”
• He huffs.
• “Do not be a snitch, Jaden or I will never take you again.”
• “Ahhh fine, are we there?”
• Running behind the mansion to escape the watchful eyes of the guards. We reach the tree lines and look behind us one last time before we dash into the forest.
• The woods are so pretty at this time of day. The leaves have changed because of the season is in the middle of fall and now the leaves are in the transition of oranges, yellows, and reds.
• “So pretty, is it not Jaden?”
• “What is it?” He asks me.
• I look over at Jaden to find him jumping behind a frog…
• Shaking my head. So typical of him.
• “Nothing, Jaden...”
• I continued to walk along the path of the forest, listening to the wind sing through the trees, watch the flowers sway in their own dance. Approaching a nearby spring feels magical. Seeing the sunlight hit; makes it look like diamonds hidden beneath the water.
• The forest was like it was telling its own story. I could sit down and just listen to the quiet, and I bet if I listened long enough, I could hear it sing its lullaby.
• I started swaying, enjoying the peace of it all, until I heard “watch out.”
• Before I could turn around to see what was going on, I felt myself slipping in the water and my once peaceful surrounding turned in to a battlefield of boys. After I resurfaced to find out who just pushed me into the water, I noticed two boys standing on the bank beside my brother.
• “Jaden step away from them, I growl.”
• Jaden makes a few steps in my direction to help me until I shake my head, showing I was fine. He stepped back and waited for me to pull myself out of the spring.
• “We will not hurt him!” A deep voice states.
• As I had my shirt in my hand trying to squeeze the water the best I can, I could not help but glare at them.
• “Says the ones who just knocked me into the water.”
• Squeezing the end of my shirt some more, I hear a chuckle escape from them.
• I glance up and a guy I will call Blondie was the first to speak: “we said watch out. We cannot help that you did not move fast enough.” As I watched him toss a football in the air, a huff escapes my lungs.
• “If that were a warning, I would hate to see what a threat would be.” A smile seemed to appear on both their faces at my comment as I grumble and make my way up the ledge.
• The other guy was a dark brunette just stood there with his arms crossed, staring at me as I finally pulled myself on to the bank.
• “You know next time watch where you throw your ball, others trek in the woods too.” Taking a few steps toward Jaden, blondie laughs again.
• “I like you lightening bug.”
• “Don’t call me that.”
• “Why not you are cute as a bug.”
• “Oh, shut up Blondie.”
• They chuckled, causing me to take in these guys.
• “She is like a little firecracker ain’t she.”
• I cannot help but huff at him, muttering stupid boys.
• Blondie had a sandy blonde hair that was short on the sides and long on the top. He was tall, at least 5 ’9, cute, and at least four years older than me. Seemed to be 15 years old at most. Baby blue eyes and even though he was not a toothpick, he still was nowhere near as big as his friend either.
• Now, his friend was a whole different story. He was at least 5’11ft, around the same age, 15 years old, my guess. You can tell he worked out, had to be an athlete.
• Pulling my bottom lip in between my teeth thinking as I was looking him up and down. He had dark hair that was short but shorter on the sides and faded to make it look good. His lips were so perfect, with a hint of rose pink as a smile formed. Goodness with the most intense green, emerald eyes I have ever seen.
• I could not stop the connection I felt as our eyes lock until Jaden cleared his throat. “Well, sis, it is time to head home. Don’t you agree?”
• I snapped out of the trance I was in... Strutting… “yes”
• Blondie laughs. While his friend never dropped his smile.
• What was that?
• Jaden and I make our way back toward our house when I heard him speak:
• His voice sounded like velvet, so smooth I felt like I could take a bath in it. It crested my ears, making me want to sink in further to listen to what he had to say.
• “Look forward to seeing you again,” a deep voice hits my ear.
• I snapped my head in his direction. Lifting my eyebrow, “and why would you think that?”
• With a shrug of his shoulder, he stated “just a feeling.”
• Jaden starts yanking my arm in the house’s direction while I watch blondie twiddled his fingers at me. “Till next time.”
• “buttercup,”
• “Buttercup?”
• “Yes, buttercup…”
• “Do not call me that…”
• “You got it, “firecracker.”
• “Stop it…”
• “As you say…”
• “Green eyes, no that name will not work either…”
• “Good…” I say.
• “I will have to think long and hard to produce the best nickname for you because I know we will see each other and quiet often with that, he winked at me. Till then, bye lightening bug.” Before she could comprehend, or even come back with a response, Jaden pulled her so hard she stumbled and still could not put everything together that blondie was saying.
• Storm:
• As weeks pasted, I understood what blondie meant. Now I know his name is Aiden, and his tall and handsome friend’s name is Steel. They both have been friends since they were babies, and if you saw one, you saw the other. Practically “brothers.”
• They were around all the time, too. Every time I would adventure into the woods to get away from the world around me and find peace, they would somehow find me. I always loved to find a beautiful area to sit, grab my drawing pad and place my pencil down to sketch. I could draw for hours, getting lost in surrounding nature, and before I would leave, I would always draft a poem to describe the feeling the place gave me now.
• The forest has always been the one place I felt myself in. I never had to be anyone or anything other than me, and the forest always approved. Though, I would get visitors every time I would come and my once peaceful hide away became a gathering. Steel would be here watching.
• Always watching…