Give Me Anything

The car shook slightly as it hit the rough terrain, the sound of sticks and rocks crunching and grumbling underneath the tires. I put the car in park and fumbled around with my seat belt until it finally clicked and freed me. I looked over to my right to see that Aleta had already gotten out of the car and was walking down to the trail of leaves and dirt. I quickly jumped out and followed behind her, watching as she walked over the many branches and roots with ease; and without even looking down at what was in front of her. Meanwhile, I stumbled over every object in my way, nearly falling right into her multiple times.

After walking in silence for a few minutes, the slim trail of trees finally widened to reveal the small pond and open grassy area around it. We were pretty deep in the woods at this point after I had driven us in for five minutes, in addition to the other three it took to walk here. The weather was chilly, a slight breeze slipping through the trees every once in awhile and nipping at our skin as it passed. This was my favorite time of year. A million shades of red and orange covered the forest floor, and a canopy of warm autumn colors covered almost all of the sky as the tree branches seemed to stretch on for miles. I sighed, this was exactly where I needed to be right now.

"How'd you find this place?" I had almost forgotten Aleta was even there, but, surprisingly, I remained relaxed despite her presence.

"When I was 8 I decided I was going to run away from home," I grinned slightly at the memory, "so I went wondering into the woods behind my old house and found the trail back there." I looked up to see a small smile playing on Aleta's lips, her eyes still looking out across the small body of water ahead of us. It was murky and full of leaves this time of year, but the swishing of the water against the rocks was so calming and serene.

"Why were you running away?" Her voice was low and soft, but still held a spark of curiosity behind it. She finally lifted her eyes to meet mine, and I actually didn't shy away or look at the ground like I usually did when she stared at me.

"My sister dropped and broke her ipod and then blamed it all on me. Of course my parents believed her and screamed at me, and then bought her an even better one the next day." It sounded so petty now, but back then it had been such a big deal to me.

"Aw," Aleta joked, "poor, poor Ben." I rolled my eyes at her teasing, but laughed along anyway. Talking to her seemed to get easier the more I did it, but I still had a hard time shaking the tension that strained my bones every time she got close to me. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but she just had this aura about her. She was warm and friendly, but at the same time probably one of the most intimidating people I had ever encountered.

"I took you to my favorite place," I cleared my throat slightly, and tried to ignore her inquisitive stare as I spoke, "now can I see yours?" I gulped, hoping she wouldn't think I was being too forward, and tried to read her expression. She looked a little surprised by my request, but mostly she showed little emotion.

"Trust me, you don't want to go there," she removed her gaze from mine to look back out into the thick row of trees all around us, a completely blank expression on her face. I rubbed my hands together nervously, trying to decide what to do or say next. Honestly, I had no clue what the appropriate reaction was in this kind of situation.

"Okay," I mumbled lamely, cursing myself slightly for ever speaking up in the first place. The air seemed to grow in thickness as the seconds ticked by, and I prayed that she would speak up and break the silence. God knows I never could.

"It's almost 3 and school's over so, I guess we mine as well go back now," I jumped at the opportunity to get myself as far away from this moment as possible and muttered another "okay" before turning back toward the trail. I could hear her soft footsteps behind me, but I tried to pretend like she wasn't there as best I could. It was a hard task, but I managed just enough to get to my car without making a total ass of myself.

We hardly spoke during the car ride back aside from Aleta's occasional directions to her house. I stopped the car at the end of her driveway , but hardly had time to say anything before she jumped out and shut the door behind her. She merely sent me a small wave over her shoulder before disappearing inside of her house, and suddenly everything felt so empty and quiet with her gone. I sat in my car for a few minutes, trying to understand something, anything about this girl. I had so many unanswered questions for her, but mostly I just wanted to tell her I was sorry. For what I wasn't even sure, I just knew I wanted to apologize for ruining her good mood.

I stared at her front door for a moment, and I pictured myself ringing the bell and her answering. I imagined her greeting me happily and grabbing my hand and inviting me inside as if we were actually friends. I put together every aspect of how our conversation would go over and over in my mind. I wanted so badly to understand her, though I'm not really sure why.

Stop being such a girl, Ben, and over thinking things. She's probably forgotten all about it by now.

I sighed, shifting my car back into drive and taking off down the road, a million and one thoughts racing through my mind.