Walk through the woods

Walk

Shovel opened her umbrella on the porch while she waited for Electracey to get her rain gear on. The smell of petrichor and pine hung heavy in the air. She took a deep breath in and sighed.

This was nice

The sound of the front door creaking open cut through the tapping of the rain. It was a perfect day for a walk through the woods.

"Ready for your first forest adventure?" Shovel asked, turning to Electracey, who was wearing a rain coat and boots as to protect her from water damage.

"Always ready, friend!" Electracey said. Shovel internally winced at the use of the word friend. If only you knew. She thought. But Shovel kept her composure and managed to maintain her smile.

"Come on girlie! Let's do this!" Shovel said, right before leaping down off the covered patio. She held the umbrella out so Electracey could walk under it. The two set off down a path into the forest. The trees were tall and the canopy was thick enough that the umbrella probably wasn't needed. But Shovel was always overly cautious and therefore was extra prepared.

As the two of them treked along the path, they came up to a bridge over a river. The sounds of the gently flowing water meshed beautifully with the pitter patter of the rain. The old bridge was moss covered and slightly creaked under the weight of the two. Electracey grabbed for Shovel and latched onto her torso, afraid of the bridge collapsing.

"Woah! Woah! Hey Electracey! You're okay, this bridge was built to last centuries. Nothing bad is gonna happen!" Shovel reassured. But Electracey still clung to Shovel. The closeness between the two caused Shovel's heart to skip a beat. She patted Electracey's head in an attempt to calm her.

"Okay, ummm... Oh! I can go across first and show you it's alright? I'm heavier than you, if I can go across, you can too!" Shovel suggested. Electracey let go of Shovel and backed away from the bridge. Shovel handed Electracey the umbrella and walked across the bridge.

"Uh, are you sure about this?" Electracey asked, hesitantly stepping onto the bridge.

"Electracey, I would never let anything bad happen to you, ever" Shovel said with a particular softness in her voice. She walked back across the bridge and gently took the umbrella from Electracey's plug hand. Shovel then, very slowly, grabbed Electracey's hand in hers. She watched Electracey's reaction closely, Electracey smiled at the gesture and Shovel internally sighed from relief. Slowly, the two of them walked across the bridge.

"Isn't this nice?" Shovel asked.

"It is, friend!" Electracey said. Shovel's stomach turned, she felt sick from the fact Electracey would never know how she felt. She felt lovesick. Her facial expression faltered for just a moment. Unbeknownst to her, Electracey was watching Shovel and saw her mask fall briefly.

"Friend! Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Electracey asked. Shovel's mind raced as she tried to come up with a good excuse for her facade breaking.

"I'm-" She breathes in deeply "I'm fine."

"You...don't look okay. Are you sad? What's wrong?" Electracey asked, it sounded less like asking and more like her pleading for Shovel to say what was wrong.

"You don't need to worry about it. My problems are mine to deal with. Nothing you need to lose energy over" Shovel said dismissively. She was trying to keep all her feelings inside and absolutely would not allow them to spill out.

"But Shovel, we're friends right? You can talk to me if something is bothering you." Electracey said.

"We are friends. But this is for me to figure out, no need to worry!" Shovel smiled. This whole time, the two of them had been walking down the path and through the overgrown forest. Everything was covered in moss and lichen hung from the branches of the trees above. Shovel had somewhere in particular she was taking Electracey. The path slopped down into a grove of green.

"We are here! Isn't it pretty?" Shovel said. She was still holding Electracey's hand. The cover from the plants made the umbrella unnecessary so Shovel gestured for Electracey to enter the grove while Shovel closed her umbrella. The two walked side by side, hand in hand. They walked to the back of the grove, passing a log full of millipedes and banana slugs. Electracey stopped for a moment to marvel at the little creatures. Shovel giggled at Electracey's fascination with animals. Eventually, they reached the back of the grove. There was a bed of moss beneath a low hanging tree. The two sat down on the bed of moss and rested against the tree. It was so peaceful. Now seems like a perfect time to destroy this friendship Shovel internally said fuck it, let's ruin this moment.

"Hey Electracey" Shovel said.

"Yeeeees?" Electracey asked.

"....how do I say this...um okay so I appreciate you a lot and well- don't take this weird but I like you a lot." Shovel stammered out. Electracey just kind of looked at her, confused.

"Well I like you too, friend!" Electracey said. Shovel's heart sank, she clearly wasn't getting it.

"No, you understand. I like- really like you. I like like you." Shovel said, hoping Electracey would get it.

"Oh...OH!" Electracey said as he finally got what Shovel meant.

"Yeah...sorry abou-" Shovel was cut off by Electracey loudly yelling and hugging her.

"You love me! You love me! I love you too!" Electracey chanted. Shovel just kind of sat there in shock before the gravity hit her. Damn, being an impulsive insane lady really pays off. She hugged Electracey back and the both of them laughed from happiness.

"I've been waiting for so long to tell you that!" Shovel said, a smile on her face.

"Well, I'm glad you did!" Electracey replied. She paused for a moment. "Does this mean I get to call you girlfriend now?!" She asked excitedly.

"Of course it does!" Shovel giggled. They sat together in the grove. What a wonderful day it was, for a walk through the woods.