Don't Go Out in the Woods Tonight...

I walk out of the back door and through the yard later in the day. The house is going through a rigorous cleaning process, and Troy and I managed to slip away.

There is one thing redeeming about my sister and her friends. They sober up quick. Each and everyone of them can pass a Breathalyzer test after only four hours of sleeping like the dead.

I guess the second good quality is that they're all responsible enough to clean up after themselves. Which makes me wonder how they get drunk in the first place.

Troy squeezes my hand, gently, snapping me out of my thoughts. I walk a little faster, catching up to him and squeezing his hand back.

we walk along, hand in hand and side by side, through the woods. We're not going anywhere, we're just... being together, which isnice odd. That's the word, odd.

"Kate, why do you put up with her?" Troy asks softy.

"She's not that bad." I reply, "Plus she's my sister, I have to put up with her."

"So what if she's your sister." He says, "She treats you... wrong."

"You obviously don't have siblings," I smirk, "And who are you to judge the right and wrong?"

He shrugs and steps neatly over a tree root. I wrinkle up my nose, knowing that if it was me, I would have tripped.

We come to a small clearing and I stop walking. I feel Troy stand still next to me as I close my eyes and stand in the afternoon sun.

I breath in and take in the woods. I feel the wind, and hear the rustle of the leaves. My nose fills with the scent of pine and earth. The warmth of the sun dances over me and soaks into my skin.

Then the sun gets blocked. I open my eyes, squinting up. Troy smiles down at me, some emotion of happiness dancing in his storm grey eyes.

I step forward, so that the sun isn't glaring at me from behind Troy. As I step closer, Troy just lets his arm fall around my shoulders.

He holds me close to his side and sighs. I close my eyes again and listen to his heart beating. Then, slowly, I run my arms around him. And here we stand, arms around each other and totally silent.

A gust of wind sweeps over us, making me shiver a little. Troy pulls away and looks at me, concern knitting his eyebrows together.

I look up at him and shrug. He half smiles and lets go of me. We start walking again, and, again, we're not really headed anywhere.

We walk out of the clearing and move through the denser and deeper part of the woods. I look up at the leaves, trusting that Troy won't let me fall flat on my face.

I spot a bird and then a squirrel. They're so cute. I stop to watch them. Troy stands still next to me, his fingers intertwine with mine. I'm starting to think we're more than friends.

Eventually the animals scamper off, and Troy and I continue our walk. I kick at a pile of leaves, making them scatter and rain down. I look at Troy, and see a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

We come to the stream and sit down, trailing our free hands in the water, never letting go of each other.

I see little fish dart between plants and zip past my fingers. I watch as one goes between the plants and my fingers, then darts off to Troy.

My eyes follow the fish to Troy, and then I start to watch his face as he watches the fish and water.

It's amazing to watch the storm of his eyes shift and part, grow and spread. Truly his eyes don't ever stay the same for more than a few half seconds. I tilt my head to the side, resting it on my shoulder.

Suddenly the storm turns to me. Troy looks at me and smiles. It makes me smile back at him. The grey and gold settle as Troy scoots closer.

He runs his hand up my arm. The fingers trail along my shoulder and up my neck. Then they run along my jaw, pausing, at last, at my chin.

Troy pulls close. I hold still as he moves steadily near me. He rests his forehead on mine and holds there. His hand moves from my chin to rest in the crook of my neck.

I lift my hand and rest it on his arm, right above his elbow. I look up at Troy's eyes, and he looks down at mine.

I draw a deep breath in, and let it out in a long drawn out sigh. Troy smirks, and leans away from me. He falls back gently into the grass, still holding my hand.

I topple softly next to him. My heart is pounding and I have to concentrate on slowing my breathings.

I hear him sigh softly, as I close my eyes. The sun beats down on us, and the wind blows softly, hustling the grass.

I could stay here forever.