Fly Me Away

“Since when are there woods here?” I called out to him. My heart was pounding in my chest as I weaved clumsily through the trees.

Jackson was striding off ahead as if he was on a mission. The second he had pulled me off the sidewalk and into a random patch of woods I didn't even know was there, I knew we weren't going to a park. It was so hard to keep up with him, he was almost jogging, but I couldn't back out now; God knows where we were exactly. Well, he seemed to know what he was doing.

When he didn't answer me, I stopped moving and slumped against a tree. He stopped too, almost at the same time, and twisted around to look at me from 10 meters ahead.

“Where are we going Jackson?” I moaned, dropping dramatically onto my knees, “You never mentioned anything about a hike.”

His shoulders slumped and he walked back over to me, gliding around the trees as if they weren't even there. I pouted and followed him with my eyes.

“Are you tired?” he asked as he crouching down on the ground beside me, placing one hand on the tree to steady himself - not that he needed it.

“Heck yes I'm tired! I like a good obstacle course as much as the next girl Jackson. Could you tell me where we're going now?”

“...it's nothing special really.”

“Nothing special?!” I exclaimed, jutting my head towards him in disbelief, “If it's nothing special then why am I following you through the woods?! I would have been quite happy to talk at a different overpriced cafe, as long as it didn't involve any of this.”

Jackson gave me a long hard stare and his expression didn't waver while I went on my little rant. “Sorry,” he said bluntly, rising up to his feet.

I leaned my head against the tree and sighed, “could you just.....just tell me where we're going? I'm feeling really miserable.”

“I've noticed.... I'm trying to help, I really am, it's just...hard for me.”

I gazed up at him, but only saw the back of his head.

He shrugged, “Besides, it's not where we're going exactly, it's what's going to be there.”

This sparked my interest. What could possibly be in the middle of the woods that was worth seeing?

“...and what's that?” I asked, sitting up straight.

He turned back to me and grinned, “I don't know for sure....but I think it will cheer you up.”

I was so confused, but it was a good confused. He was obviously being evasive and not answering my questions, but I sort of....liked it.

I smiled back shyly, “..okay then, let's keep going.”

He nodded, expecting this answer, and reached down to help me up. His hands fit around my rib cage and he hauled me to my feet like I was a baby.

“You're strong,” I noted dumbly, blushing and brushing the dirt off my jeans.

“You have no idea.” He smiled smugly, then turned around to keep moving. I followed behind him again, curious as to what that meant...

He kept the pace slow this time, which was more like it, but it wasn't long before I found myself tired and annoyed again. Jackson strode swiftly through the tree's just a foot in front of me. He would go out of his way sometimes to hold a branch back or help me over a ledge, but that was about it. He never picked me up and carried me through the woods bridal style like I was hoping he would.

Apart from how sore my feet were, Jackson was the only thing on my mind at that time. I decided that I liked being his girlfriend, even if it was just for show, but it was having weird side effects. When we first veered off the street, I was genuinely upset that he'd let go of me and carried on further into the woods while I trailed behind. He had probably noticed by now how much I liked him; he had to have. Everything I did now days seemed to give me away.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. Unrequited love with a twist. A very big twist.

...I wondered if it was against the rules for angels to date humans. He said he'd been living a normal life for the past 40 or so years, so....didn't that involve 'interaction' with others? Maybe he'd been married before? Maybe even more than once...??

The thought made me cringe.

As the forest got darker, I started to wonder whether we were getting deeper, or whether night was actually falling. It felt like we'd been walking for hours.

“I thought this was only going to take a few minutes?” I complained, tripping over a tree root and almost slamming into a tree. Jackson's hand latched onto my arm like a vice. “Ouch,” I winced, pulling my arm away and rubbing it.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, clenching and unclenching his hand. I hopped along to keep up with him, appearing at his side, ready to re-ask my question, but he answered.

“We're nearly there. What we're looking for has been moving, but it's stopped now.”

This made my insides bubble up with anticipation. What where we looking for? A faerie or a pixie or something crazy like that?

His speed picked up a tiny bit, but it was nothing I couldn't handle at that time. I wanted him to move faster.

Then suddenly, in a part of the forest that looked identical to the rest, he stopped.

“Are we here?” I asked quietly, but he held a finger up to his lips.

His eyes were fixated on something in the distance and I squinted in the same direction. All I saw were more trees.

I furrowed my eyebrows, “Is it—”

I was cut off when he placed his hand over my mouth. This made me furious, but not for long. His eyes were still trained on the spot, but his face moved until his lips were a hairs breathe away from my ear. He lingered there for too long and I felt a shudder glide down my back. I was holding my breathe, waiting for what he was about to say.

What he said, however, was less than romantic.

“Don't speak. Just keep quiet and don't make any noise unless I say, understand?”

I barely heard it, but nodded feebly. He slowly took back his hand, and stepped away from me.

I sighed slightly, and slumped my shoulders. Surely he could see the disappointment on my face that time...

When I worked up the courage to look back at him, he held his arm out too me as if we were walking into a grand ball. I hesitated at first, not sure what was going on, but eventual gave into my desires and eagerly looped my arm around his.