Anathema

fourteen - down in the forest

"I have something to show you," Josh said.

"What is it?" Tyler asked, feeling a burst of nervous excitement. He glanced at the two others beside him and noticed that even though Clancy was chewing his thumbnail again, he was smiling just slightly. Nico was quieter than usual and stayed staring at the ground with an empty, tired expression.

Josh laughed a little, a sort of breathy giggle that made Tyler's heart flutter. "It's a surprise, genius."

"Oh," Tyler said.

"You're blushing," Clancy whispered, and that, in turn, made him blush harder.

"Hey, are you okay?" Josh asked, his eyes gentle and concerned.

"Yes," Tyler mumbled, feeling something like an over-ripe tomato.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I - I just think you're...um..." He wanted to hide his face and make his heart calm down, but he couldn't do either. He didn't even have the nerves to tell Josh was he was thinking about.

"What?" Josh asked curiously, tipping his head slightly.

"I'm just thinking about bumblebees," he said quickly.

"Ruined it again," Nico muttered, and Tyler's mind instantly ran through as many of their interactions as he could remember. Had he ruined it before? What had he ruined?

"I like bumblebees," Josh said, easing some of the anxiety in his chest. "They're cute and fuzzy and always running into things. Come on, the surprise is super sweet."

"Sick," Tyler muttered as they started walking, and Josh laughed again.

"Yeah, it's sick."

"I feel like bumblebees sometimes," Tyler said slowly, wondering if Josh would understand.

"I don't think I know what that means," Josh said. "Could you explain it to me?"

"No," Tyler said, unsure whether to be relieved or disappointed. "I don't have the words."

"Okay," Josh said. He didn't even sound disappointed, and that made Tyler relax a little. He wasn't pressuring him to try and explain something he couldn't, and Tyler really appreciated that. No one else was like that. His parents always pestered him until he made up some answer to satisfy them, and even Dr. Ann had pushed him into talking, even though she'd done it gently. 

"Can you tell me where we're going?" Tyler asked. 

"The forest."

Instantly, his heart jumped with anxiety. He exchanged a glance with Clancy. "The forest?"

"Yeah, it's super cool in there." Josh didn't seem even a little bit scared, so Tyler tried to cover his fear as well. If Josh thought it was safe, then he'd believe it was safe, too. He trusted him. 

"You trust an imaginary person with your life?" Nico sneered, mostly to himself. "Pathetic."

Tyler glared at him over his shoulder, but a sinking cement feeling settled in his chest and tied his stomach in knots. I'm sure we'll be fine, he told himself, but he didn't quite believe it. 

The forest was only about a ten minute walk from Tyler's house, and they were quiet the whole time. There was a path leading into the trees, and about a mile down the path, there was a creek and a bridge, and then the path curved around and looped back to where it started. Tyler felt a hundred times safer on the path than he decided he would if he stepped off. The trees blocked the sky and covered the ground with shadows, and sometimes, Tyler swore he saw something darting between the trees, following them.