Grey

Chapter 6

The path swerved back and forth for a few miles, and I easily got lost in my own thoughts again. I once heard this saying that "those who speak less, often have the loudest minds". In my case, I was inclined to agree. It was easy to drown out the world with my thoughts. But even my thoughts couldn't drown out the sound of voices I suddenly heard down the trail.

Damn. No longer alone.

"-you're cheating. We have regulations, Grey. You have to follow them," I heard an angry voice say through gritted teeth.

Wait. I recognized that voice. Riel? Was he talking to Grey? Why are they walking in the forest in the middle of a rainstorm?

I did not want to be caught in the middle of their crossfire again. So, being the brave soul I am, I hid behind a tree.

"-both know your regulations have no control over me. Unlike you, I don't have a side. So, therefore, I'm my own boss and I pick my own rules. I was paid to do what I was paid to do. I was not paid to do it by rules. That's an extra charge," Grey's voice echoed through the empty forest, gruff and irritated. I furrowed my brows. Paid to do something? What were these guys? Wannabe gangsters?

Actually, I take that back. Grey could be a gangster, he was terrifying. Riel, though- Riel was an innocent little flower. Riel looked like an angel.

"We have rules, regardless, reprobus. Follow them or you'll get worse than what you've already got," Riel threatened, but it sounded more like a plea.

"Poor Riel. Still working on the whole scare tactic thing. All of you are so self-righteous, but I was the highest when I fell. And you know what that means. You. Can't. Beat. Me." Grey, on the other hand, his voice sounded like pure danger. My guess was that Grey was the only one out of the two who could actually back up any threat he made.

What did he mean, 'fell'? If that was some sort of slang for a drug deal- I needed to get out of here. I glanced to my left, the direction of the trailhead. There was a fallen log that could provide me coverage, enough to get to the next group of dense foliage. I covered my mouth with my hand in an attempt to silence my breathing and crouched down behind the log.

So far, so good.

I inched my way towards the foliage, now ignoring their conversation and focusing on getting to safety. I was almost there, when-

snap.

A twig broke underneath my foot.

I pressed my lips tightly together, silently praying that they hadn't heard me.

"Jordan?" I heard Riel's voice come from above and I looked up. His vibrant eyes were the same color as the sunlight filtering through the leaves above him. Those eyebrows were knitted together in a scowl, his lips downturned in a frown.

"Oh, hey Riel," I said casually. I stood upright, pressing my lips together awkwardly as I faced both of them.

Shit shit shit.

"What are you doing out here?" Grey raised one of his under-arched brows, the corner of his lips appearing to twist upwards in amusement. His eyes, however, held no such sympathy.

"Uh, hiking. Duh," I shrugged, brushing my hair out of my face and back into my hood. Grey's eyes flashed with annoyance, so I turned to Riel, hoping to receive some sort of sympathy. However, he merely sighed and ran his fingers through his silvery hair.

"Hiking in the rain, Jordan?" He asked softly, his voice much more understanding than Grey's.

"Well, it wasn't really raining when I'd started, to be completely fair. It was only a drizzle," I explained. Riel looked back at Grey, who remained expressionless. And I thought I was stone cold.

"Why were you hiding behind a log? How much of our conversation did you hear?" Grey interjected, his voice devoid of emotion. I, unwilling to show that he was intimidating, straightened my posture and narrowed my eyes at him.

"To answer your first question- I didn't want to see you. And to your second question- I wasn't listening, I was too busy trying to get away from you. But since you're so worried, now I'm curious. What were you talking about? Must've been important," I smirked, watching Grey scowl at me. Whether or not he knew I was lying, I couldn't tell.

"Are you done interrogating her? She's soaking," Riel asked Grey, exasperated. Grey's eyes shifted to Riel, and then back to me. I held his unwavering gaze, refusing to show any sign of intimidation.

"Whatever. I'm taking her home, though. She left her jacket in my car the other night anyway," Grey mumbled, his cerulean eyes flashing with something I couldn't quite identify. I turned to Riel, who was glaring at Grey.

"Actually, I'd rather ride home with Riel," I folded my arms in defiance. Grey shot me a cold glare and turned to Riel, as if daring him to agree. I looked up at Riel, hoping he could see the plea in my eyes. I didn't want to ride home with Grey. Grey was a jerk. Grey annoyed the crap out of me. And worst of all, Grey lied. I did not leave my jacket in his car. I didn't even have a jacket on that night. Riel lowered his head and shook it in submission.

"I'm sorry Jordan, I took the bus. I'm parked back at the park entrance. Ride with Grey," Riel murmured, his voice holding something sorrowful. I frowned slightly and cleared my throat, walking down the trail towards the trailhead.

"Are you coming?" I called back to Grey, not bothering to look and see if he started following me or not. I was beyond irritated. I felt like Riel had just lied to me right then, and I didn't know why. Was he scared of Grey? What could Grey do that he couldn't?

And beyond that- their conversation freaked me out. Something about being paid to do something, having fallen from something, and some Latin word I didn't understand. Sure, I might've been able to hide that I'd overheard whatever they were talking about, but what's the point if I couldn't even figure out what it meant?

After a few miles of Grey and I walking in silence- partly because I was busy with my own thoughts and partly because I didn't like him- we reached the trailhead parking lot. I spotted his Batmobile black Camaro on the far side of the lot and headed in its direction. I walked over to the passenger door and started to open it, when a hand slammed it shut again, cornering me up against the car. What was it with Grey and cornering people? I turned around to face him, trying to remain devoid of expression.

"What, Grey?" I asked coldly, my voice more demanding than I had expected it to be. Grey narrowed his electric blue eyes at me, a strand of his dark hair falling across his forehead. Water collected at the bottom of the strand, dripping onto my cheek. He was too close to me. This was starting to become a habit of his.

"Tell me the truth. Now. How much did you hear?" He growled out through gritted teeth. His voice was low, threatening. The intensity of his gaze made me want to look away, anywhere else. But I didn't, I held his gaze and raised an eyebrow defiantly.

"I'm not afraid of you, Grey," I replied calmly. Grey narrowed his eyes, scowling at me as if he either didn't believe me or was pissed that he did.

"The truth. Now," he demanded again.

"I told you the truth. You trying to scare me isn't going to change that," I shrugged, holding his gaze.

"If you knew what was good for you, you'd be scared of me," he smirked, his unearthly eyes twinkling with mischief. I folded my arms and tilted my chin upwards in defiance.

"If you knew what was good for you, you'd be scared of me too," I shot back.

Why on Earth did I say that? I could not back that up, why did I say that?