Annalise

Bonus Chapter: Ricky, Noah, and Asher?

I cautiously stepped over to the direction of the chatting, crawling under a small slide for toddlers as I peeked out. From the position I was at, I spotted two young kids that seemed my own age, not some creepy old guy.

Two boys were swinging high into the clear sky, one kid with caramel skin and the brightest blue eyes shining greatly in the sunny light. A perfectly straight smile graced his face and highlighted his soft carefree features, his appearance dramatically different from the brooding boy swinging beside him.

That kid had peachy skin tanning red beneath the heated rays of the sun, his light brown hair was a mop of curls flowing over to his sides and dipping across his forehead. The boy's hazel eyes were narrowed, not due to the light bothering his sight, but the annoyance weighing down his slumped shoulders as he dragged his feet across the dirt, now swinging lightly.

"I can't believe our fathers think we can't go outside by ourselves. We're freaking eleven, not one!" The brooding kid yells out in frustration. "We don't need a stupid babysitter," he vented, swiping away hair falling to his eyes.

"Noah, they just wanna keep us safe. Besides, who cares? We're out by ourselves now, enjoy it, idiot," the boy with the blue eyes replied, adding a small remark that made his lips curve up.

"I'm not an idiot! And I care because I'll like to be able to go out on my own. I'm not some stupid kid who doesn't know danger when it hits them in the face," Noah complained loudly, yanking the chains on the boy's swing to halt him from swaying back and forth.

"Hey! Ok, ok, I get it. Stop ruining my swinging, you ass," the boy grumpily retorted, momentarily losing the relaxed look on his face.

The kid named Noah sends him a glare at the insult he received, still stopping the boy from continuing his swinging.

The blue eyed kid huffed, shifting in his seat to face his friend. "There are rules! My dad and yours already explained some of them, it isn't safe to go out alone with no protection, even they don't do it," he informed, his eyes widening at the realization of them being alone.

"Yeah? Well, those rules suck," Noah disapproved, resuming to swing.

"Maybe we should go home. This was a mistake," the boy asserted, his round eyes roaming the area around him.

"No. Let's just stay here for a few minutes more."

I smiled widely, completely forgetting everything about not talking to strangers, even if they were kids like me. I crawled out from the slide, rising up tall as I walked towards the boys.

"Hey!" I beamed, greeting the two enthusiastically.

"Fuck!" The blue eyed boy yelped, shock making him respond in a high-pitched voice.

Both the boys' head switched over to me in an instant, shock etched on to their faces.

"Who the hell are you?" Noah barked, jumping off the swing set.

My eyes expanded at his unfriendly tone, making me take a careful step back. I was opening my mouth when I stopped midway, focused on his approaching figure and his face that had a stern look.

"I'm-I'm," I stuttered, my heart rate increasing to an abnormal speed.

"You shouldn't be here! This is not your park!" He shouted at me, standing only a feet before me now.