Anticipation surged through my veins as I made my way to my locker, still dumbfounded that I was meeting with Fen after school. Many questions plagued my mind- what will I say to her? Will it be awkward? What will Sarah say, if she finds out?
I tried not to think about the last one; Sarah is not going to find out.
A thought surfaced in my mind, that Fen had said that she had “things to do.” Hmm, I wonder what those things are.
Just as I rounded a corner, heading towards my next class, Sarah saw me and scuttled away from her group of obnoxious friends, making me cringe.
“Hey, hunnie, why do you even waste your time with a tutor? You know you’re so good at everything.” Her voice curled with a tone too sweet to really mean it, almost like a sick kind of sarcasm.
“Actually, I do need a tutor,” I smiled, thinking to myself about what I would really be doing, “In art. I think I might fail if I don’t get one, actually.” Not all lies, I guess.
“But it’s only the second day of school, how would you even know?” She tried hard not to let the whine be heard in her voice, but it got into her tone anyway.
“Because I’ve never been good at it. I gotta get going.” And without another word I walked briskly down the hall.
I started to feel a guilt, slowly gnawing away, about Sarah. Even if she was bitchy, she was my girlfriend. I guess. These days my mind was preoccupied with other things…
Lunch wasn’t too bad, but I didn’t see Fen there. I wondered what she did, during those crucial social times, where every other girl in the school was talking to her best friend.
The last few classes dragged on for hours, it seemed, until the last bell finally rung and I ran to my locker, excited about what the afternoon had in store. I longed to know more about Fen, the little sweet mysterious girl.
*Meanwhile*
Fen was walking down the corridor, in from the outside. Her hair was tossed around her in a mess, as usual. She remembered her afterschool “date.” No, it is not a date, she thought to herself. I’m just helping him with his homework.
She was just walking down the hall, and Jake “accidentally” ran into her. She smiled, composed herself, and started to walk away before she heard him say,
“Wow, you’re as much of a freak as Gryffin said you were.” His laugh was bitter as it rang through her ears, tears welling up in her eyes.
*
I found my way through the emptying hallways easily, making my way to the courtyard in the center of the school. No one really uses it anymore, for some reason. Right now the trees were a beautiful mix of striking orange and light yellow, the ground covered in their fallen leaves. A light breeze flows through occasionally and the trees shake, whispering in the wind.
Fen is sitting on the carved bench, looking at something in her bag. I glance around me, no one else is in the hallways anymore.
About to enter the courtyard through a glass door, I see something that makes me stop. The look on Fen’s face, she looked so… sad. That wasn’t even a word to describe it, she looked, well, broken. She had no tears but yet, her pale skin had dulled somehow, her green eyes a bright shade of lime mixed with moss. And somehow, right then, she made her way into my heart.
I readied myself and opened the door, her head turned the other way as she cleared her throat.
“Aye, Gryffin, hello.” Her voice quivered, so softly that you could barely tell. But I could.
I replied, trying to sound like I hadn’t noticed, “Hey. So, where do you wanna go…to, er, study?” My usual smooth tone was off, which was so odd for me. I wanted to smack myself right there, but that would only further my embarrassment.
“Well, at this moment- lad- I would like a nice peaceful break. How about we take a wee trip to the forest?” Her voice sounded expecting, like she thought I’d say no. Her green eyes finally turned towards mine, where I could tell she was trying to keep the sadness at bay.
“Sure. Just lead the way.” I smiled at her, trying to make her feel more comfortable. This must be so awkward, for her. She’s new and suddenly some guy she barely knows is like, stalking her after two days… that sounds pretty bad now that I put it into perspective.
She nodded, and gracefully pulled herself and her large bag off of the bench and started toward the door.
“Hey, wanna go in my car?” I asked, trying to sound mature.
“Yae know, there is justa’ woods right by the school, aye?” she raised a delicate eyebrow at me, amused.
My face grew red as I realized that it was probably only a two minute walk from here to the woods.
“Oh yeah, those woods.” Wow, that was a dumb thing to say. I’m just so… uneasy around her. Not in a bad way, though.
She exited through the door and I followed suit behind her, opening doors throughout the school for her whenever possible. I’m not sure, but I think I saw a slight rosy glow on her cheeks by the time we got outside.
We walked through the scattered trees on the school’s back lawn until we reached the edge of the forest. The whole walk there had been silent, but not a very akward silence. Just… peaceful.
She stood by the edge and the trees seemed to lean in, as Fen began to speak,
“So, Gryffin…why are you really here?” Her voice suddenly sounded strained, which contradicted her usually smooth flowing tone.
“To get help on my sketches, and to maybe make friends with you?” a small smile broke out on my face as I said this.
She did not look convinced.
Her eyes took on that sad look they had earlier, in the courtyard, and I asked,
I tried to make my voice as non-threatening as possible, “Hey, Fen, what’s up?”
Her eyes suddenly grew angry, “What’s up? You know ‘what’s up’! Your silly little friend Jake should have been the tipoff for me, that you were just trying to mess with the new lass! But I went this far anyway…” An angry red was rising to her cheeks, making her look like she was about to pop.
“What are you talking about?” I asked in disbelief and anger. What game was she trying to play? Yeah, I was mad at Jake too, but how would she know about that?
Those large green eyes widened as she said, “Aye! How could you think that I donna know what you said! I’m just a little freak, obviously, to you I’m just someone new to mess with.!” Her hair faded, it suddenly looked sad, with grey and dark blue tints. Those beautiful eyes faded, as well. What is wrong with her?
I took a step back, just on instinct, before I even knew what I was doing. The crushed look on her face made her suspicions confirmed in her head, and I knew it.
“I didn’t say you were a freak! What the hell are you talking about?” My anger boiled. She was just lying to me, to get me to go away or something. For a split second I thought,
What a little freak.
The moment the words came to my mind I instantly regretted them, and her sad eyes began to well up, as if she could sense what I was thinking.
She turned briskly, and darted off into the forest. The trees leaned away from me, as if they were trying to shun me from their woods. A sharp wind came rustling through the forest, blowing tons of dead leaves and dust into my face. I coughed, trying to make my way through the brush to find her.
Why did I let my anger get the best of me? Why now?! Why with her?
The look of sheer pain in her eyes flashed through my mind, making my heart hurt. I’d never felt this way, about anyone. I’d never cared this much- and now she thinks that I hate her? Or that I’m playing tricks on her? …
I started to feel unsure about the forest, as the filtered light shone red through the fall leaves. It was beautiful, yes, but startling. How far could one girl have gone?
Fen:
Tears streaming down my face, I ran as fast as the wind would carry me into my sacred woods. Why am I over-reacting, it’s not like I can ever make friends anyway. Especially with a silly mortal boy…
I whipped around a dead tree and decided to hide. It was easier then running and much more secure. The boy didn’t have half the hearing I do, and he probably wasn’t even coming to find me…
I reached out with my extra senses, my web of thoughts spanning through the forest floor. The magic found its target- fumbling through bushes, yelling my name. His voice sounded… sad. A twisted smile crossed my face for only a moment, before I realized that I should not be happy.
I buried my face in Ardis’s soft fur, which smelled of morning dew. My tears slowly seeped out, somehow I, was crying over a human boy.
“Oh, Ardis, what is wrong with me?”
Gryffin:
As I tore frantically through the bushes, a nagging feeling suddenly found it’s way into my brain.
Turn right.
A soft voice, somehow reminded me of Fen’s, whispered in my mind. She sounded… celestial.
I did as the voice sad, and my mind picked up on an immediate sweep of sadness.
It came from a small bush, which had flowers and mushrooms growing all around it. It was surrounded by soft moss, and little logs in that looked as if they would sit people. Well, very small people.
My mind was perplexed by what was happening here, in this odd forest. Somehow, time seemed to move slower here, as if… as if…
Then, I really heard her. Her soft sobs coming out muffled, the bush quivering with each new intake of breath.
My heart sank in my chest- I had done this to her.
“Fen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… think that you were a freak. I don’t even know how, but I think that somehow you heard that. I don’t know, but… I’m so sorry.” The words came out strained, because for once in my life, my face grew red from trying to restrain tears.
A flock of owls suddenly came down and swooped at my head.
That’s odd, owls usually don’t live in groups…
I ducked, feeling their sharp talons right above my scalp. They flew off, through the silent forest. I raised my head, and one owl was sitting on a branch in front of me, studying my face.
“You may not have realized it but I donna take kindly to being called a freak. You may leave this forest now… I hope you do alright with your sketches, lad.” The words didn’t come from the bush where she resided, but from the owl.
I gasped, in wonderment. What is going on here?
“Fen… I didn’t mean it. Please, please come out.” My voice cracked on the last words. I crouched down, peering into the bush, when a pair of green eyes gazed sharply back at me through the underbrush. They weren’t Fen’s, though.
I slumped, putting my head in my hands in defeat.
“If you won’t come out then…then… I don’t know what to do. I just want to see you, to say I’m sorry in person.” I looked down at the dirt, an inchworm slowly making its way towards a fallen twig.
I stood up, and realized that she was there, standing in front of me. She had somehow gotten out of the bush noiselessly, I noticed with a start.
Her hair was had dark undertones, and her eyes were swirling with shades of deep blue and occasionally, a stark violet. Small hands clasped together, she looked at me with loathing.
“Fine, then get out of here. I donna think I can take someone who... who disrespects me like such.” Her anger was prominent, but the underlying tones of defeat were also audible.
“I’m sorry. You know…I don’t know how you…you, read my mind,” I took a deep breath, “But I don’t think you’re a freak. I think you’re…you’re amazing.” My lips shook on that last sentence, waiting for her response.
Her eyebrows slid up, showing her surprise. Her lips pursed, as if a sour taste had entered her mouth.
“Flattery, with me, Sir Gryffin, will get ye nowhere. I had wanted a friend, but I see that… that you are just…” Her sentence ended as her small nose twitched, and she sniffed. Her eyes grew wide, but only for a moment, before she calmed them down.
“Aye…uh, Gryffin, you better leave. This time of day is not very safe, and I.. better be getting home.” She said suddenly.
The sun was setting, and the tops of the trees were glowing with that pre evening luminecense. Beautiful. Had it really been that long?
“Trust me, I can handle myself. Let’s sit and talk awhile.” She looked nervous as I said this, shifting her weight from one foot to another.
“I must talk some other time. I’m afraid that it isn’t very…safe, for you to be out around at this time of night, Gryffin. Please, make your way out of the forest.” I noticed her eyes dart around, looking in the shadows of the trees.
“No. I’m staying. This is important.”
I noticed the sun was setting, and her eyes closed, she drew a deep breath.
“Please, Gryffin.” She pleaded softly.
And then, I heard a thousand howls throughout the forest, and as I turned around to see what Fen had meant, she was gone.
She left me alone, in the forest? No way.
“Fen?” I called out nervously, into the woods. A small light flickered somewhere in the woods, a few yards away. My eyes grew wide as it faded out of sight and reappeared just a few yards later. It seemed as if… it was getting closer.
“Fen?” I called again, more urgently.
Then a snarl erupted from somewhere in front of me, and a creature like nothing I had ever seen jumped at me, clawing for my face.
“Beast of darkness and death, away!” I heard a powerful voice call, as I was surrounded in darkness.
The last thing I felt that night was soft hands under me, carrying me somewhere, somewhere where I would hopefully be safe.
Fen:
I raced throughout the forest, searching frantically for Fallon. As I ran, the trees seemed to be in slow motion, the darkness spreading around me.
I wasn’t fast enough though, as I heard a piercing scream ring from behind me, Gryffin.
I ran faster than I ever have in my whole life, then, I launched myself at the creature, ripping deep into its still beating heart.
Goddess, take this beast to your Everlands. Please do not let him be remembered in vain.
As these ceremonial words echoed in my mind I carried Gryffin to the safety of my home, mumbling protection magic under my breath the whole way there.
His beautiful auburn hair was glowing in the moonlight, as I set him by my hearth and covered him with a soft shawl. I made a mental note to erase his parent’s memory of him needing to be home tonight, thank goodness we had tomorrow off.
I kissed his forehead and I saw a smile on his lips, as if he knew that I was right there, taking care of him.