That Boy Next Door

Chapter 7

"I didn't actually think you'd eat it!" she exclaimed.

Seth's mouth hung open and he felt as if the bug he just ate was going to come back up. "So I didn't have to eat the bug?" he asked, taking a step closer to Dannie.

Instinctively, Dannie took a step back but nodded all the same with a goofy smile on her face. "Did it taste good?" she asked innocently.

"You sneaky little..." he didn't finish his threat as Dannie turned around and full out sprinted towards the beach. Seth chased after the girl, hot on her heels. Dannie took a sharp right turn and let her cross country training kick in. She knew she could outrun him.

After a couple of minutes of running, she cautiously looked behind herself and was surprised to see an empty beach. She could've sworn she heard him coming after her only a few moments ago. Panting, she decided it was a good thing that she had lost him.

"Gotcha!" Arms were suddenly around Dannie's waist and she was being pulled backwards into Seth's chest. However, all she could concentrate on was the cockroaches he held in front of her face, teasing her as he moved them closer and closer to her.

"No! Get them away from me!" she screamed as he chuckled deviously and led them closer. Dannie tried to move backwards but it was no use as Seth had her trapped. "Please! I'm sorry!"

Seth laughed and threw the stick with the filthy bugs onto the ground. "You should have seen your face. 'Get them away from me!'" he mimicked in a falsetto tone.

Dannie simply stuck her tongue out at him in return. She folded her arms across her chest, pouting and pretending to be pissed at him. Seth chuckled and wrapped her in his embrace. As Dannie was turning her head to smile up at him, she noticed exactly just how close they were. Though his arms were wrapped loosely around her, she could still feel the heat reverberating off his body.

Her eyes were now trained on his white tee shirt which also just so happened to show off his well-defined chest muscles. Using all her will power, she lifted her eyes to meet his. Upon closer inspection, she realized how unique they were.

The iris was a light golden brown color, with specks of green near the center. Dannie's own eyes then flickered down to his lips, which were so perfect and soft looking.

Upon those thoughts, Dannie's mind screamed at her in alarm. This boy had a girlfriend and here she was inspecting his lips! Seth however, did not seem to notice her alarm and was staring at her with a burning intensity in his eyes. Dannie did not notice though, as her mind was running in overdrive at her previous thoughts.

A drop of rain on her nose brought them both out of their reverie.

Looking up, Dannie noticed the black storm cloud she had spotted earlier was now looming above them. She couldn't suppress the shivers that ran down her back as she thought about that certain fatal night so many months ago. Seth seemed to notice her discomfort and slung an arm around her shoulder for comfort.

"We should head home," Dannie stated.

"Not in this weather. We're a couple miles away, I think we should find shelter," Seth argued.

"What weather?" Dannie protested. Right as she said this, it began to downpour, instantly drenching them in an ice cold rain.

"That weather," Seth answered laughing. "Come on, let's go over there." Without waiting for her consent, he dragged Dannie over to a nearby makeshift of rocks. As they came closer, Dannie realized it was more than rocks, it was a cave.

As the rain came down harder, blurring their vision, Dannie suddenly flashbacked to That Night.