Collide✔️

t h r e e

"Well I don't much have another option. You're committing a crime." I try to tell him, waiting for his eyes to flicker in realisation. When nothing changes, I quickly realise he's well aware that what he's doing is against the law.

"You'd have me arrested for something as innocent as hanging in a peach tree?" He asks me, as if I'm incredulous. I can still hear the amusement in his tone though. He finds this whole ordeal comical.

I scoff and drop my dress as I reach the trunk of the tree, folding my arms. "It's not the hanging that's illegal. It's the trespassing." His smile widens as I mimic him. "You have no right being here." I tell him pointedly before he has room to reply.

"Alright," he surrenders, tilting his body off to the side as if to get a better view of me. "I'll go. Just wanted to see you were alright princess. Looked ready to throw yourself over the railing for a minute there." I can't tell if his concern is sincere, but I relish in the chance that it might me. If tonight has proven anything, it's that my feelings aren't regularly a matter of interest. The thought that this stranger cares is quite refreshing.

I almost thank him for his concern, but then I catch my tongue. "I'm not a princess." I say lamely, as if that is what's important right now. He shoots me a cynical look and his eyes graze my figure.

"No kidding? Posh frock for a 'not princess'." He states. I almost flush as he continues to observe me. His gaze is so intense, unyielding, that it brings a warmth upon my body.

"There is a celebration." I inform him for reasons unknown, flicking my hand towards the Manor from which I just escaped. It's as though the crime he is committing has somehow slipped my mind, pushed away by his brazen attitude and blasé manner. My curiosity for him has overpowered every ounce of reason. His appearance has enthralled me, as has the common tongue in which he speaks.

He hums and lets his eyes find the Manor. "We heard. That's why I'm here," he confesses. "Figured I've got better use for the food you'll waste than what the rats do." His admittance concerns me. Never before have I considered that some people might be so desperate as to have to steal from the waste of others.

"I'm afraid you might be at a loss. There isn't much food to be wasted." He sighs and lets his eyes fall on me again. He doesn't seem all that dejected though; still smiling like he's slept with a coat hanger in his mouth.

"That's too bad. Least it's not a trip wasted; I got to talk to a pretty girl." My chest constricts but I shake off his flirtation and harden my gaze.

"That's awful bold of you. It's clear to see your confidence isn't lacking." I claim, clenching my jaw when he flashes his white teeth at me. "My patience has worn thin. My night has already been something of a disaster without it being made worse by my fraternizing with a criminal."

"Disaster, huh?" He swings himself to a lower branch so that now, his knees are in line with my head. With him being much closer, his features are that much more distinguishable. My breath catches when I realise, he's quite handsome. Quite literally, breathtakingly so. Attractive, but in an undone way, not like the prim and proper people back inside the ballroom. "Sounds rough. What happened?"

I sigh, clasping my hands in front of me and offering him a flat expression, trying not to let his good looks muddle my thoughts. "Listen, Mister –"

"Kian," he introduces.

"Kian." I test the name on my tongue, oddly surprised with the way it sits quite pleasantly. "As flattering as your interest in my evening is, it's also wildly inappropriate. We are no better than strangers and lets not forget, as of current, you are a criminal."