Lure To The Woods

V

"Don't tell her I said it, then." Mick blushed.

"My loyalty lies with her, unfortunately." I chuckled, nudging him, "Maybe one day she'll decide conventionally attractive men aren't her type."

"Hey, that's an insult towards me too. We're identical." Mike glared playfully.

I got an uncomfortable feeling all of a sudden and I frowned, looking around. I couldn't see anyone this time. Whoever they are, they were learning to keep their distance. Why could I sense them, though? Unless I was just being paranoid because I'm out at night again. It's more rational to believe it's the latter, and since I value my sanity, I decided to just kill the feeling by smoking at the park.

"Have you got any bud?" I asked Mick, who shook his head.

"We had the same dealer, ran out the other day. Need to get another one." He shrugged, "Anyway, you sound like Heather. The only reason she talks to me is to buy bud."

"You shouldn't give her crazy discounts, then." Mike huffed, flopping down in his usual seat on his swing, "You basically give it to her for free."

Mick took his spot on the other swing and I claimed the slide. Mick passed me the tobacco bag and I took a Rizla, rolling myself a cigarette. I wish I had a bottle of vodka. The stress from the last few days was building up and I was sick of being worried about what I was doing every second of every day. Before this, I was relatively care free.

I took a drag of my cigarette, closing my eyes and enjoying the feel of the cool metal on my skin. The twins were bickering amongst themselves, but it was a comforting sound. Things felt normal again. I looked up at the sky, noting that it was relatively cloudless tonight.

"Did you get an invite to that party this weekend?" Mike directed the question at me, snapping me out of my haze.

"Yeah. She texted me not long after the break up happened." I confessed, "It was actually like twenty minutes after."

"I don't understand how you get girls like that." Mick shook his head, "It's insane. You have a queue of girls waiting their turn."

"It's because he doesn't care. Girls don't like desperate." Mike's tone was implying that Mick should chill it with Heather, but obviously Mick didn't catch on, because he's dense.

"I've actually decided to take a break from dating. I'm just not into it. Before you ask, Mick, yes that means she's available." I mocked, making him pout.

"Dick." Mick muttered, kicking the floor.

"Did you hear anything else about Dug? What's going to happen to him?" I questioned, wondering if I had to worry about him anymore.

"His little brother's in year ten and he was telling our sister that he's being charged with carrying a knife, since he had one when they detained him. He's still a minor, so no prison time, but pretty intense stuff. Good thing we all ran in time." Mike sighed, taking a drag of his own cigarette.

I bit my lip, reaching for the baccy again. I rolled myself another cigarette, thinking about what would have happened if that guy hadn't shown up. Dug definitely would have caught up to me; I don't run that fast. Was Dug insane enough to stab me for calling him a bull dog? Probably. That guy essentially saved my life.

"Watch yourself when running your mouth in future, smart ass." Mick glared, "You put us all in danger."

"Will do." I nodded.

I was pretty suspicious about who told Dug in the first place, but as long as he wasn't an issue anymore, I didn't really care. Live and let live, or whatever. The feeling in my stomach was still there, so I took another drag of my cigarette to drown it out. If these feelings continue, I'm going to get lung cancer.

"About that note, do you have any idea who it was?" Mike seemed genuinely curious, making me a tad suspicious. Was it him?

"At first I thought it was my mum, or one of you guys. There's no way my mum could go shimmying up the drainpipe and I hope to god you guys aren't lying, so I've got no clue." I admitted, peaking their curiosity.

"It might be your ex." Mike pondered.

It would be a viable suggestion, if I hadn't developed some kind of spidey sense about the whole situation. I knew instantly that it wasn't my ex. It wasn't a 'her' at all, judging by the classroom incident earlier. I was fairly confident it was a guy following me, watching me.

"Doubt it." I answered simply, not bothering to explain why, "Anyway, you better bring your A-game this weekend. I want my stomach pumped by the end of the night."

"Somebody's had a bad week." Mick scoffed.

"It's only Monday." Mike pointed out, chuckling.

"The illustrious life of Cameron White." I gushed with fake enthusiasm, looking back up at the sky, "Get bud by then too."

"Will do, Cam." Mick promised.

I settled back against my slide, letting my eyes close. I finished off my cigarette and spent a while longer enjoying being out at night. I felt pretty chilled out and I didn't want to move, but the twins had to be back before the sun rose, so they headed out with a wave.

I didn't want to stay in this creepy park for very long when I was all alone, so I went on my way too. As I walked along the tree line, I admired how different it looked in the night time. Some might think it looked eerie, with the moonlight illuminating the branches, but I thought it made it look more beautiful. Everything was better at night time.

I was pretty near home, when rustling started in the bushes up ahead. I slowed down my pace, coming to a complete stop. There's no way I'm approaching whatever that is. I'd rather walk all the way back to the park and take the long way home. I held my breath, watching carefully.

Suddenly, a deer flew out of the woods, making me fall back and land on my ass. I scrambled back, putting distance between myself and the thing. The feeling in my stomach was going crazy, telling me I was definitely being watched right now. My eyes darted around the path, spotting a figure in the trees watching me.

It saw me looking and froze. We looked at each other for what was probably half a second, but it felt like eternity. My mouth dropped open slightly, trying to process whatever was happening right now. My feelings were on fire. I felt frantic and wild, conflicted with what to do. My brain said run away, but my heart was saying run towards him. I couldn't see his face, since it was covered with a mask and he was hidden in the darkness of the trees.

I tried to speak. Ask what he was doing here- following me- but it was too dry. I spluttered, stumbling over my words. He didn't dare move, or make a sound either- which was good because it probably would have sent me running. I slowly got off the ground, wincing as pain shot through my left ass cheek. That fall to the floor was unfortunate.

"Are you okay?" He asked, not daring to move still.

His voice made my heart sing. I felt breathless, unable to think all of a sudden. It was deep and husky, sending shivers down my spine. I bit my lip, trying to shake these thoughts away. I hadn't ever felt like this. I'd never been attracted to anyone, so this was unbelievably overwhelming for me right now.

"Cameron, please answer. Are you okay?" He asked again, more urgent this time.

I felt like crying; I was so overwhelmed. Is this what attraction feels like? I felt like throwing up with nervousness, but I also just wanted to jump him. I hadn't even seen his face and I was a good twelve feet away. Just hearing his voice was making me like this? This was dangerous. He didn't seem aggressive, only concerned, but I didn't understand why I felt like this and why I trusted him. Everything's so overwhelming.

So I ran.