Meet Me Halfway (EDITING)

Chapter 15: The Gunshot

Sarah awakened to the sweet sound of chirping birds and the strong bristles in the wind, swaying from side to side against the leaves in trees. She rubbed her eyes slowly, turning and sitting up to see across the burnt out fire that Jay, Nate and Vince were still asleep from earlier on in the night. She ducked her head into her arms, tucking it under her blankets before looking in Chuck's direction.

He shuffled gently as if he had sensed her watching him. She gestured quickly back to her ordinary position, looking straight at the burnt wood laying in front of her eyes. His feet kicked and shrugged at hers slightly, waking him up immediately. She promptly rolled back on her other side, now looking into the vast emptiness in the distance ahead of her. It was quite foggy and humid, only showing their surroundings no further than at least fifteen metres away. She was already wide awake.

He sighed casually, stretching his arms lazily and peeking behind him, only to see he was surrounded by a forest of deadly trees with long branches filled with leaves half filled with life.

"Sarah, are you awake?" He sat up, hovering over her shoulder. Without hesitation, he tapped her slightly, urgently in need of a talk that had been bugging him the whole night through. She turned to face him, although she stayed lying in her blankets.

"Yep," she bumped her lips together, forming dimples in her cheeks. He pinched the bridge of his nose nervously, pursing his lips in substitute of not knowing what to say next. He clutched his hands together, ripping the blankets off him and shrugging them off beside the wood.

"Listen, I think we should talk..." She sat up in response completely, back straight and hands holding her body up on the ground. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, not looking up at him before she spoke.

"About what?" He asked dumbfounded, even though he knew exactly what she was referring to.

"Well...last night," she drew tiny repetitive circles in the dirt in front of her, gathering piles together in partial boredom and fear.

"Listen, Sarah...it's ok, don't worr-"

"No, Chuck. Seriously. I want to apologise for last night. I don't know why I backed away from you in the middle of..." she trailed off, scratching her scalp in an attempt to avoid his stare.

"I honestly don't. But, I know that I regret it," she continued hastily, rushing her last sentence like she had planned the mini speech in her head fifty times before. She picked up his hand and placed it in hers, curling up their fingers together. She looked up at Chuck, giving a peaceful smile while waiting for his reaction.

It was as if he was confused. Whether he didn't know whether to accept what she had just said, or wasn't sure whether he was going to start burst out crying or laughing. A tingly sensation fell among them; almost forgetting to break the moment when they realised Jay had woken up from the continuous birds' chirping aloud in their setting.

At that moment, Chuck hadn't really understood what she meant. He was slightly confused in the relationship. Was she ready to continue something special, or was she going to break something that had just started? Before any of them could say anything else, Chuck left Sarah's gaze when he heard shuffling across from the wood. Jay was lazily stretching, running his fingers through his hair as he waited for his eyes to adjust.

He gave a hasty glance to Chuck and Sarah, who had at that moment had their hands entwined in each others. He gave them a hasty glance, communicating completely through his eyes. Sarah followed his gaze, suddenly removing her hand from Chuck's.

"Morning," she said, breaking the silence. She coughed slightly, staring at a tree that stood behind Jay. She impatiently sat in her blanket, watching as her knees jiggled up and down continuously. Her hair danced and flowed uncontrollably in the two-second strong wind, brushing against her cold, pink cheeks.