Walking along a gravel trail, Alan looked about his surroundings in silence, the sunlight peeking between branches and leaves as he passed underneath them. Daniel was on his left, appearing to be the guide along this whole ordeal. He was carrying a backpack, while Alan held a large water bottle in his hands.
"I haven't been to this park in a while..." Alan stated, his voice low as to not disturb the sounds of nature echoing around them. It was around Noon as they had driven to the park entrance after Daniel picked Alan up from his house, needing to hike the rest of the way to a part of the park. However, where they were heading was lost on Alan entirely, as Daniel wanted to keep it a secret.
"Really? I come here pretty often, as it's not too far from my house. I'll do some trail running with my dad and brother, when we have the time." Daniel responded, continuing down the path.
Of course your incredibly fit, rich and gorgeous family would do trail running. Granted, it keeps you all fine as hell. Alan thought to himself with a small smile on his face "I don't think I've been here since... I moved away."
"Ah, that's right. You switched districts because of what happened between you and Thomas." Daniel stated, glancing over at Alan as he did so.
A grimace came appeared Alan's face, then quickly went away as he recalled the incident in quick, vivid memories. "Yeah... haven't really had the need to come back here. We used to play as a group around here, so... once that happened, didn't see the point."
"That's understandable... I'm guessing you aren't ready to talk about that." Daniel spoke, slowing his pace as he did so.
"Not yet... sorry..." Alan replied with a weak smile, before seeing Daniel slow his pace to a halt. "What's up?"
"I think... it's here..." Daniel said, looking about himself and the scenery, his eyes scanning trees, rocks and small boulders nearby. Without much warning, he stepped off the path into the brush.
"Uh... what are you doing?" Alan asked, confused.
"We're heading to our spot." Daniel answered with a smile, looking over at Alan as he did so.
"It's... not on the trail?" Alan asked, still puzzled.
"Of course not. It's not too far from here, though. Probably about another 2-3 minute walk." Daniel replied, reaching over and taking Alan's right hand to pull him along.
"If I get killed or stabbed, and you live, I'm going to haunt you forever." Alan grumbled with a skeptical look, only to hear Daniel laugh.
"It's safe, I swear. That, and I don't think I would mind being haunted by you..." Daniel joked.
"Be careful what you say there, Wombat." Alan teased, following along behind Daniel as their hands remained locked. "So... where exactly are we going? Can you tell me now?"
"I'm actually surprised you don't know where we are already, Moogle. None of this is familiar?" Daniel asked, glancing back over his shoulder as he did so.
Alan frowned in uncertainty, looking around at the looming trees and rocks as they walked through the grass and brush. "Not a clue."
"Goodness... you would think you could remember the first time we met..." Daniel spoke with a sigh, a playful smile coming from him.
Alan's eyes widened in surprise, his pace picking up a bit to be right next to Daniel. "Wait... you remember exactly where we first met?"
"I do..." Daniel replied with a grin. "That's where we're headed."
At the confirmation of this, Alan's entire face turned a shade darker, his blush having gone from nonexistent to blatant. "Whoa... wowowowow.... Um... well.... I feel like shit now." Alan stuttered out, flustered.
"Why?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"Because you remembered the exact spot of where we first met... and... I mean... it's where...." Alan fumbled, getting incredibly embarrassed.
"Yeah... it's where we first kissed, Moogle."
-
The sky was slowly turning from bright to twilight, having been out much later than he expected. Yet, the more the darkness came, the less he could really make out objects. He carefully crawled about, his hands out in front of himself as he tried to feel for the familiarity of metal and glass. He whimpered in frustration, pausing slightly at the sound of ruffling that was off in the distance.
"Nikki?" he spoke carefully, not hearing a response.
"Thomas?" Again, silence.
"Anybody?" he spoke out once again, his voice starting to crack at the fear that he was alone and unfortunately blind, as he had lost his glasses entirely.
While in the middle of a good game of hide-and-seek in the woods with his friends and some neighborhood kids, Alan had gone a little too deep into the wooded area, having tripped over a fallen log and knocking his glasses from his face. He had no idea how far his glasses had gone, considering that once they were off, his eyesight was horrid at distances. Up close, he could work with, but with not much light remaining, even that would prove fruitless.
He huffed in anxiousness and fear, crawling around on the ground as he tried to reach out and feel his glasses, not wanting to give up hope as the last thing he wanted to do was be out here in the woods alone after the sunset. At that point, no one would be able to find him.
I don't want to be out here by myself. It's dark, and I can't see... my mom is going to kill me... if some murderer doesn't get to me first... why aren't my friends looking for me? Did they forget me? Did they go back to the meeting spot? That's far away from here!
With every passing question, his fear grew and his eyes began to cloud over as tears formed within them.
"I-I can't cry... if I do that... I can't see!" Alan spoke out in frustration, sitting up with a sniffle as he tried to rub dirt from his hands on his jeans, using his t-shirt to clean his face. He sat there, looking up and seeing the light was retreating even further in the horizon and a panic was coming over him completely.
"Nikki! Thomas! Anyone! Help! I-I can't see! I lost my glasses and I can't see!" he shouted as loud as he could, hoping someone would hear his cries. Usually at dusk, most people who were on the trail were heading back towards the parking lot. He figured he couldn't be too far away from the main trail, since he came from there himself.
However, he was met with more silence, which just scared him even more. He sat there as he pulled his knees to his chest, defeated as he put his head on top of them. "I'm... gonna die out here..." he spoke fearfully, before breaking down into an all out sob. "I hate this! Someone come find me! I'm scared!"
"Um... hello?" a voice stated, not too far away from him.
Alan froze and his body went incredibly still, his head turning in the direction of the voice slowly, yet he couldn't see them at all. His mouth was shut tightly, uncertain of who was there.
"Are... are you ok?" the voice sounded once again, the sound of footsteps getting closer as they did so.
Alan could see that there was some type of light source coming from them, but he was still not sure who this person was, and that made him rather unsettled. "Who... who's there?" he nervously spoke out.
"I heard you crying from the trail, so I came over." they replied, at this point now standing over Alan and looking downward. "Are you ok?"
Alan remained where he was, looking upwards, his eyes squinting as they attempted to try and make out who this person was. His voice didn't sound like an adult, so he could only assume it was another child like himself. "I... I lost my glasses. I can't... really see." he stated hesitantly.
"Ah, ok, that makes sense. Maybe I can help you find them. I have a flashlight." the voice spoke. "Let me go and look for them-"
"No!" Alan quickly stated, reaching out and grabbing onto them, feeling them stop entirely. He wasn't even sure what he was grabbing onto, but he held onto it tightly. "Don't leave me alone! It's getting dark, and I really can't see anything, and I have no idea how long I've been out here trying to find my glasses!" he spoke, tears welling up in his eyes again as he did so.
"Ok, ok... I won't." they replied, before reaching over and grabbing onto Alan's left hand carefully. "I'll just hold your hand, and you can walk with me while I look, is that good?"
"Yes..." Alan replied, sniffling as he did so. He kept close to this stranger, not getting the feeling that they would hurt him.
"What do your glasses look like?" they asked, carefully walking around and shining the flashlight out in front of them.
"They are... gold and round." Alan answered softly, allowing himself to be guided as they walked.
"Ok... I don't think they will be too hard to find since I have the flashlight. Maybe they didn't go far."
Alan kept quiet as they looked around, considering he couldn't really see anyway. Yet, he was curious as to who this stranger was, since he was quite sure he had never heard their voice before. "Who... are you?" he asked, looking upward and squinting horribly.
"Oh, my name is Daniel." they answered calmly, their attention out in front of them. "Who are you?"
"Um... my name is -"
There was the sudden sound of something cracking underneath his shoe that made them both pause in shock. Daniel pointed the flashlight downward towards Alan's right foot as he lifted it off the ground to show a now cracked pair of golden glasses, the lens cracked entirely in the left, while it was partially broken on the right.
"Um... we found your glasses..." Daniel stated nervously, reaching down and picking them up, before carefully handing them to Alan.
Alan took the glasses, his hands shaking as he did so. He pulled them close to his face so that he could see the damage, only to just end up crying not too long after.
"Hey! What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Daniel asked, very concerned and confused.
"Because my glasses are ruined! I can't see anything out here! It's dark, my friends aren't here, and these are my 3rd pair of glasses this year! My mom is going to murder me when I get back home, and when she finds out I stepped on them, I'm dead-"
Without much warning, Alan felt a hand on the back of his head before he was gently pulled forward and felt the touch of lips against his own, his eyes wide as his frantic sobbing was silenced in a swift movement. After about 5 seconds, his eyes focused slightly to see Daniel pulling away, and he caught a full view of his entire face. His black eyes stared back at him brightly, his black hair draping over his eyebrows as a soft breeze picked up once the sun set and caused the strands to blow against his forehead.
Alan was at a loss for words, his mouth slightly agape as he looked back at Daniel.
He's... really... cute.
"Are you ok now?" Daniel asked, a look of worry on his face.
Alan nodded slowly in response, still in shock.
"Ok, that's good." Daniel spoke with a bright smile. "I think if you tell your mom what happened, she'll be ok. It's dark now, so let's head back to the car area." he stated, gently grabbing Alan's hand and leading him out of the woods.
-
"You didn't say anything the whole walk back." Daniel spoke with a grin, seeing Alan glare at him, his face still red.
"What the fuck was I supposed to say?!" Alan raved, poking Daniel playfully in the side. "I wasn't expecting that at all!"
"I mean... you didn't complain, either." Daniel rebutted, kneeling down to open his backpack as they reached a clearing of flat grass.
"I think I was still in shock. It didn't dawn on me that you had given me a kiss until I was back with Nikki and Thomas and the other kids. By that point, you had headed home." Alan noted.
"Well, at that point my mom called me and I had to run off. She was confused about what I was doing with you guys, since she had never seen me play with your group before." Daniel replied, pulling out an object.
Alan watched Daniel as he revealed a folded blanket, Daniel unrolling it in the air, before laying it neatly on the ground below them. "Are... you... doing a picnic?" Alan asked, a smile of disbelief on his face.
"Ah, such a smart Moogle." Daniel teased, a smile on his face. "Have a seat. I packed lunch for us both."
"I don't deserve your romantic ass..." Alan muttered, only to hear Daniel laugh in return. He took a seat on the blanket as instructed, curious as to what Daniel made.
"It's not much, since the dessert took longer than I expected. But I think it will hold us over until dinner." Daniel stated as he removed containers from his bag. Within a couple of minutes, he presented a container of a small strawberry tart, two containers of salad, and a container of seaweed rice rolls.
"OMG... is that Kimbap?" Alan asked, his eyes lighting up excitedly.
"Yeah, I noticed that you liked it the last time you had dinner at my place and my mom made it. It has bulgogi in it as well." Daniel answered, handing Alan a pair of chopsticks and a small container of soy sauce.
"Marry me. I want a shiny ring now." Alan stated quickly, only to hear Daniel laugh once again.
"Maybe you should eat everything first before we start talking about marriage plans. For all you know, my cooking could suck." Daniel teased, settling down onto the blanket next to him.
"Nope... tastes amazing to me!" Alan stated, his words muffled as he shoved two pieces into his mouth. "I mean, you took little chef classes. I expect anything you make to be wonderful."
"Thanks, Moogle. I'm glad you like it." Daniel replied, not helping but to smile in return.
"So... this is the spot, huh? Where... we first kissed?" Alan asked, taking a moment to pause and look about the area. He sadly couldn't recall any landmarks or familiar scenery, considering his eyesight was horrid during that time.
"It is. I remember that pretty large rock over there near that tree. The only thing missing was that log you apparently tripped over. I guess they cleaned that up." Daniel quipped, eating a piece of Kimbap afterwards.
"Why did you decide to do this today?" Alan asked, curious.
"It's the... exact day of our first kiss, actually." Daniel stated calmly, taking a small sip of his water bottle as he did so. He glanced over to see Alan's entire face red, his green eyes wide in shock. "You're so easy to surprise, Moogle."
"A-Are you serious?!" Alan spoke, shocked.
"Quite serious. I remember because I actually wrote it down in my journal, which I still have tucked away in my closet." Daniel answered with a smile. "It was a... pretty significant day to me."
"This is..." Alan didn't know what to say as he averted his gaze, a smile not helping but to stay on his face as he looked about himself. This time, he actually wanted to try and remember the scenery, not wanting to forget something so special. He then moved over to grab Daniel's face in his hands and kissed him happily, their lips locked for several seconds before he broke it. "Thank you, Daniel. This is really amazing." Alan spoke, a bright smile on his face.
"I'm glad...makes me pretty happy too." Daniel replied with a smile of his own.
"So... what are the plans after this?" Alan asked, curious.
"Oh, we can stay here as long as you like. It's not a huge rush. But, I figured we'd want to head out before dark. Good thing you wore contacts. We don't have to worry about you losing your glasses." Daniel teased, only to see Alan stick his tongue out in response. "Why? Did you need to get home at a certain time?"
"Actually..." Alan stated, scooting a little closer to Daniel as he did so. "I was wondering... if I could... stay over tonight..."
Daniel's attention perked up at that statement, looking over to Alan to see a rather coy look on his face. "How interesting... My parents are off visiting my sister this weekend. I'm sure they won't mind..." Daniel replied, a look of his own coming to his face.
"I mean, you know... I could at least return this awesome gesture. If that's ok with you, of course." Alan teased with a smirk on his face.
"Don't tease me, Moogle. You know how I am with challenges. You know what happened the last time you did that." Daniel teased back with a grin, only to see Alan blush madly.
"The look your mom gave me when we came downstairs was so embarrassing... Why is she so damn perceptive?" Alan barked, only to hear Daniel laugh loudly.
"I mean, I really enjoyed the show. Hopefully that makes up for it." Daniel replied, only to see Alan smirk once again.
"Oh, I could tell. Let's see if I can get that same reaction again." Alan rebutted, leaning over to give Daniel a quick kiss on this cheek as he continued eating. "By the way, what did your mom say when you returned home after finding me in the woods?"
"Oh... well... let's just say, she gave me a really nice talk about 'consent'..." Daniel stated, only to hear Alan laugh in response.
-
A/N
Happy New Year! Thank you all so very much for the 200,00 views!
I was not expecting this story to be read that much. While I know I don't reply to comments often (it's not my speicality, so sorry. I'm hoping to get better at it this year!), I do read them all and sincerly apprecaite them! I've never laughed so much at some of the things you guys post! Also, I do truly thank the readers who provide corrections or useful information. I may not respond immedately, but I do try to update the story or comment to you personally when I can.
This bonus chapter is 1 of 2 that will be posted. The next one will be up next Monday and will actually be NSFW-ish (This story is "teen" and I would hate for it to be reported and removed because I don't stay in those guidelines). Again, the full NSFW version of the chapter is on my Patreon, and it's actually up now. The revised, "safe-ish" version will be up next week.
Goodness, if the readership keeps up like this, I'll have to post another bonus chapter for the 300K mark much sooner than I would've ever expected... and I already have ideas for that :3
Also, a speical thanks to my current Patrons: Rielle Tallulah Tamale and Bucko!
As patrons, they will have their names at the end of my chapters moving forward, as a way of thanking them for their support.
Thanks so much for reading, and look out for another bonus chapter next week!
-Blu