Crossroads | ✓

e i g h t e e n

Kiranya looked more than pleased as she wiped her fist on her shirt as I rubbed the small of my back.

"Now we're even," she said before walking past me, not before bumping her shoulder on mine and though her punch did hurt, a smile broke on my face.

"Where are you going?" I asked from behind her and she stopped, tapping a foot on the ground.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the last post-it is in the tree house," she said, sounding smug as she looked over her shoulder, her short black hair framing her face in a cute manner, the strands falling on her forehead, begging my hands to brush it off.

My grin widened.

God, she did look adorable when she was trying to act all smart, and high and mighty.

"The tree house is in the opposite direction," I said.

The smug look dissolved. "But I remember-"

I interrupted her. "I took you here once. And the sun's going down."

Without waiting for her, I turned and started walking down the other direction, hands in my pockets, no path or anything there. I heard a crunch and had to stifle a chuckle when I felt a presence quite close to me.

A rustle came from our left and suddenly, I sensed her presence a lot closer to me. I smirked.

Sometimes it really felt good to act all cocky in front of the girl you like. I halted suddenly and this time, the chuckle escaped as Kiranya bumped into me.

"Watch where you're going," I said without turning back and another punch landed between my shoulder blades.

"It was your fault," she hissed. "Don't stop abruptly!"

I turned around, trying hard to control my laughter.

"Hey, a baby squirrel was crossing. Do you want me to stomp on it?"

"I saw no squirrel."

"It's getting dark."

"It's still sunny."

"There really was a squirrel."

Kiranya narrowed her eyes but didn't argue back. "Don't do that again," she muttered and started walking but I stopped her.

"I may run into another squirrel or a rabbit or even a snake. So why don't you let me hold your hand so that you don't have to bump your face in my awesome back anymore?"

Where the courage for talking like that came was a mystery. But when I felt slender fingers get tangled with mine, it was too much. I mean, you sure I didn't die when she punched me?

"Now, move," she said, shoving me roughly and though the woods was getting darker by the minute, her blushing cheeks was too obvious to miss. And from the look she gave, it was clear I didn't look any better.

We walked, passing one unfamiliar tree after another - well, unfamiliar for Kiranya but yeah - before we finally reached the final set of trees between the tree house.

"You sure we're taking the same path as the one you took that day?" Kiranya asked, suspiciously. "Because I don't forget things that easily and not even one tree or bush rang a bell in my mind."

"I'm sure," I started but coughed when she quirked up an eyebrow. "Um, I might have taken a detour unknowingly..."

"No wonder it seemed longer," she mumbled.

Our looped hands dangled in between us as she punched me yet again. It was true that I took the longer way around the woods to reach the tree house since I wanted to be alone with her for a few minutes longer.