out of the woods📚

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Once I had finished recounting what had happened the night prior, I had a tear falling from my eye. I look up to my friends who surrounded me, their eyes were wide and looked filled with fear and sympathy. It was Tobi who first spoke up.

"That...sounds terrifying, I'm so glad that the ranger found you." She said wrapping her arm around my shoulder and pulling me into a hug, placing her other hand on my head in an act of comfort. I wrap both of my arms around her middle and bury my head into her shoulder, letting more tears flow.

"Yeah, without him you might've..." Grizzy starts, but he trails off, coughing slightly, not wanting to finish his sentence. We all understood what he was going to say and it only makes me cry harder.

"Let's get out of here, we've all had enough adventure for one day," Fitz spoke up after a moment of silence. I pull away from Tobi and wipe my eyes, nodding. We started to all head to the car, I was walking slightly faster than I usually do, wanting to get out of the forest as soon as possible.

Soon we're in the car, I'm in the middle of Swagger and Tobi. I turn my head to look out the window and watch the dirt path merge into one of asphalt, trees still surrounding us. I reach down to grab my phone before I remember that I had dropped it while running away from that guy. That just means that I won't be able to text John right away.

"Hey, I kinda lost my phone in the woods, do you think we could stop by somewhere and get me a new one?" I ask, quietly.

"Oh, that's fine, you'll need to have a phone if you want to text that hot ranger that saved you earlier," Tobi said, grabbing my arm with one hand and pressing her other hand to her forehead dramatically like a fainting Victorian lady from the 1800s. I roll my eyes at her and smile slightly.

"Yeah, you have your knight in shining armor you need to call, can't have you miss out on that." Fitz joined in, making everyone chuckle lightly, I just blushed, thinking back to John.

Sure it might have been part of his job to save people, though probably more figuratively than literally, it still felt like finally someone could care for me. He seemed like he knows what he's doing in his job, but he can't be more than 25 years old, maybe he's been working there since he got out of school? He seems to know at least some laws and stuff. Thinking back on how he acted so tough makes my face heat up.

Soon the car comes to a stop and I look up to see that we're at the apple store. How long was I not paying attention? Never mind that, I need a new phone.

*time skip because im too lazy to write*

When we reach my house, I hesitate to get out of the car, fearing that that man would somehow be here, watching me and waiting to pounce.

"You want me to walk you to your door?" Tobi says after I take a bit too long getting out of the car, I just look at her with pleading eyes and she smiles, stepping out of the car and holding the door open for me. She walks to the trunk of the car and pulls out my backpack before holding out her arm and I gladly take it, walking up the small path to my door where she waits for me to unlock it.

"Thanks, but you really didn't have to do that though," I say, not looking at my friend while I fumble with my keys.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure that the whole experience was a bit traumatizing to you so we should probably all be a bit more sympathetic around now." She said and I finally got the door open, slowly pushing it only to hear the sound of my dog rushing to the door barking like crazy, it makes me smile knowing that I have her to protect me, but also my friends.

"Again, thank you, and tell the others I say thanks, I'll see you soon." She smiles and waves, walking back to the car. I step into the house and am immediately attacked by a vicious animal, also known as Octavia. Her body moving vigorously as she jumped at me, tail moving back and forth at high speeds.

"Hey, girl! How are you?" She didn't respond as I closed and locked the door before sinking to the floor to give her attention, she only started to lick my face making me make sputtering noises and lift my head out of the way. "I missed you too,"

I continue to pet the dog before I remember that I have to text John, well, I want to text him. I pull my new phone out from my pocket and open it up. I was lucky and we were able to recover most of the important data from my old phone and transfer it to this one, but I'm probably missing some things, but I choose not to dwell on that, opening the messaging app and clicking on the "new message" icon, typing in the number John had given me.

Hey! It's Smitty from earlier, I wanted to say thank you again for helping me, you saved my life. Maybe I could show my thanks over dinner or a cup of coffee and breakfast? Let me know :)

God, I hope that doesn't sound too forward or anything, I really want him to reply so. I hit send and immediately turn off my phone, standing up from where I am on the ground and grab my luggage, walking farther into my house, setting the bag down at the bottom of the stairs. I made my way over to the back yard to let Octavia run around outside for a bit.

After I let her out, I close the sliding glass door to watch her run around. While watching her I notice a figure moving in the reflection of the glass, my smile drops as I feel a presence behind me. I spin around, my breathing increased to hyperventilating and my eyes starting to water. When I'm fully turned, I'm met with nothing, but that didn't help calm my erratically beating heart or my heavy breathing. It didn't stop my eyes from darting around the room. Didn't stop me from sinking to the floor. Didn't stop me from crying, or from pulling my legs up into my chest and wrapping my arms around them, curling up into a ball and just letting the tears fall from my eyes.

I felt so helpless. I feel so helpless. I only move from that position against the door when I hear a small bark come from behind me, I turn to see my dog at the door, ready to come in from her adventure outside. I stand up shakily and open the door, letting her in. When I close the door, I make sure it's locked and then close the curtains, so that no one can look into the glass.

I walk to the stairs and grab my bag again, walking up the stairs with Octavia following me until I get to my room, where she goes to lie on her bed. I walk over to the window and close the curtains before staring to unpack from the trip. I'm glad that my friends remembered to grab it even when I wasn't there.

I pull out my phone and check the screen, seeing a notification from about a minute ago.

Hey, I'm glad I was able to save you, we wouldn't want someone as cute as you to be hurt. But coffee and breakfast sounds nice, when are you free? I could do tomorrow at 9?

Holy shit, he responded. And he wants to meet up tomorrow too! And he called me cute! This is good, I think.

Sounds like a plan, do you have a place in mind?

Yeah, I'll text you the location :)

It's a date then :)

I guess it is, see you then <3

I don't know why but that heart made my actual heart flutter. The thought that he sent that to me makes me forget that I was just crying a few minutes earlier. I smile at the texts, god I can't wait for tomorrow to come, but right now I think I'm going to make sure no one can get into my house.

*oh look, it's another time skip to later that night*

After I put away the dishes from dinner I go to grab Octavia's food to feed her so she can eat while I get ready to go to sleep. I brush my teeth and wash my face before pulling out some pajamas for the night. Once changed, I grab my phone and set an alarm for 7 am the next morning, so that I wouldn't be late for my date with John at 9. I turn off my phone and lie down in the bed. It's so much more comfortable than the hard ground from last night.

I lay there, looking up at the ceiling for a while, I feel the darkness surrounding me and consuming my body. Even though I wouldn't be able to see anything in the dark, I can really only see what's directly in front of my face, no being able to see the ceiling anymore, even after my eyes should have adjusted to the dark. I try to move my hand to wave in front of my face, but for some reason, I can't seem to move my body, like I'm being held down by something.

Tears prick my eyes as they frantically look around the room, only finding black staring back at them. I closed my eyes shut tightly, but when I opened them I was back in the forest. I spun around, looking for anyone who might be able to help me. No one. That's when I hear it. A voice right next to my ear. I freeze.

"Did you think you would be able to escape me that easily, beautiful? No matter where you run I'll be able to find you." It's the guy to tried to kidnap me. He grabs my wrist and pulls it across his body while he places his other hand around my waist, pulling me to his chest. I try to let out a scream or shout, but all that comes out is a whisper of a noise. The man just laughs and brings my wrist up to his lips, pressing a kiss to the skin. "And now I can finally have you! That annoying park ranger can't take you away from me again, not anymore." His voice got darker when he spoke about John.

"What did you do to John?! Where is he? John! Help me!!" I shout, thrashing in his grip, but I can't seem to get out this time no matter what I do.

"He's unimportant, what's important is that now we can be together!" I wrench my hand out of his grip and shove my elbow back behind me, getting him in the gut. He lets go of me to double over in pain and I bolt out of his grip. "YOU BITCH!" He screams at me as I run as fast as I can, but for some reason, I can't seem to get anywhere, my feet moving but my body practically staying still.

I end up giving up and falling to the ground where tears start to fall from my eyes again. I clench my fist and stare at the ground, my eyes falling closed when I hear branches and leaves crunching behind me, expecting for something to happen, but when nothing comes I open my eyes again and see that I'm back in my bed, the tears still present in my eyes. I can hear my dog next to me, so I turn over and see her head on the bed next to me, she must have heard me crying and got worried. I smile and reach out to pet her.

"You'll protect me, right girl?" She makes a sound that sounds like a long sigh, it makes me laugh. I grab my phone off of the bedside table where it was charging and check the time. It's 6 am.

"Jesus, it's early, maybe I can go back to sleep? But I might sleep through the alarm, I guess I'll just stay up then." I think out loud to myself. I sit up from my position on the bed, pulling the covers off of my body feeling the cold air hit my arms and legs. I turn my body and place my feet on the ground next to the bed standing and making my way down the stairs to let Octavia out. While she was running around outside, I made myself a cup of coffee to really wake myself up so that I wouldn't fall asleep on John.

When I finish it, I put my cup in the sink and go to let Octavia inside. She bolted in the door and nearly took me down in her path. I let out an "oompf" type sound when she collides with my body. It makes me smile.

"Thanks for the love but I gotta get ready for my date." I say and start to make my way up the stairs to my bathroom, stopping to feed my dog on the way.

*time skip brought to by taking good care of dogs*

I picked up my phone to check the time.

"Oh shit, it's nearly 9," I say out loud, jumping up from the couch and bolting to grab my jacket and shoes, quickly pulling both on while I fish out my car keys from my pocket. I rush out the door and lock it behind me, heading to my car and pulling up the diner's address. Before I got into the car, I see that the diner wasn't that far from where I live. I could probably just walk if I wanted to, but do I really want to? I wouldn't mind the fresh air or exercise.

I backed away from the car and started out towards the diner. The wind tousled my hair, it felt nice, but I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching or following me. I've looked around myself at least five times, people must think I'm insane. I just can't help this itch in the back of my mind.

I completely space out and don't realize I'm got to the bakery. I look up, into the windows. I see him already sitting at a table and looking at his phone. It makes me feel a lot better seeing John again.

I take a deep breath and open the door, hearing the bell ring. John looks up from his phone, a smile appearing on his faces hen his eyes land on me. It makes my ears burn, but I smile back and head over to where he sat.

"Hey, sorry for making you wait, I decided to walk here instead of driving," I say, hoping he wasn't waiting too long for me to show up. I take a seat across from him.

"It's ok, I just got here anyway." He smiled, it held the same friendliness as when we first met. "I haven't ordered yet, I was waiting for you."

"Oh that's fine, you didn't have to wait," I said, looking at my feet, which were nervously moving around under the table.

"Well, it's too late now." He shrugs and goes to call over a waiter. I take the moment to take him in. He was still as beautiful as before with his short hair that resembled a lions mane and his green-blue eyes that even now, in the light of the diner, I could tell the true color of. He was wearing more casual attire than before, switched his uniform in for a black and yellow striped shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, his wrists decorated with a few chains. I can't see his bottom half but that's ok, cause his face makes up for it.

"And, what would you like sir?" I look up next to me, a waitress is standing next to our table with a pen and notepad looking at me expectantly. My eyes widen as I realize that she was talking to me and I look down to the menu in front of me, my eyes quickly scanning over the laminated paper and landing on the french toast. I told the waitress that that's what I would like and she nodded and wrote it down on the notepad. She takes the menus from us and leaves to go to the kitchen with our orders.

I look back at John, who's already looking at me with a soft-looking smile on his face.

"What?" I ask, knowing he must have been staring at me for some time.

"Nothing, I'm just taking in how fucking attractive you are." That makes me blush and I look back down at my feet before a burst of confidence flows through my body.

"You're one to talk." I mostly mumble it but I know he hears me when his smile grows tenfold.

"But, uh,  how have you been after the whole uh, nearly being, y'know?" He gestured vaguely to nothing, the thought of what happened dampens my mood a bit, but I try to keep smiling, I think he notices my energy fall and so he reaches across the table for my hand. I graciously accept it and lay my hand in his.

"Well, I lost my phone so I had to get a new one and I was a bit more paranoid last night than usual, but I'm sure I'm just a bit on edge because of everything that happened and I'll be back to my usual self in no time," I say and smile weakly at him, he smiles reassuringly back at me.

"Speaking of your usual self, what do you do? Like your job?" He changes the subject to which I nearly sigh in relief.

"Well, I work as a film and video editor and online entertainer," I explain, not really knowing how to tell him that I make YouTube videos without him looking at me like I just told him that vaccines aren't real.

"Like a YouTuber?" Shit, he figured me out. I nod. "That's really cool, I have a degree in graphic design and do some side jobs when I can, but with my current job, I have little to no free time," That makes my eyes widen.

"Well that's cool, we have even more in common." I smile brightly at him and he squeezes my hand, I had forgotten that we were still holding hands and it made my cheeks burn a bit but I squeeze back.

We start to talk more about our lives and hobbies, I learn that he is really into fashion and has a sewing machine at his house and he learns about my dog, Octavia. Our food is brought to us and we eat, still talking and joking around with each other, by the time we're both done, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. The waitress came back with the check and placed it in front of John, he opens it and puts his credit card in, after I try and grab it out of his hands and pay for it myself, but he doesn't let me do that.

After that, we continue to talk a bit more while waiting for the waitress to come back and take the card so we can get the receipt and leave. Not that I really want to leave, but I've been sitting for well over an hour and a half and I need to do something else other than being at this table. Once she comes back and John signs the receipt letting us stand up to head out.

"Hey, you said that you walked here right?" I nod. "You want me to drive you home?" He says, holding his keys out in front of him. I weigh my options, on the one hand, I wouldn't have to walk home alone and feel paranoid, but on the other hand...there really isn't an "other hand", I'm not super sure I want him to know where I live, but I have no reason to not trust him.

"That would be great if you could, thanks," I say with a thankful smile. He started to walk towards his car with me following behind him. He opens the driver's door and hops in with me doing the same on the passenger's side. He turns the engine on and waits for a moment, handing me his phone with Waze pulled up, letting me put in my address before he starts to pull out of the parking lot.

"Do you mind if I use the aux?" I look to him, though I know that he can't look at me while still driving. He shakes his head to which I grab the cord and plug-in my phone, pulling up bbno$ on Spotify and hitting play, hearing the familiar sounds fill the car and my eardrums with the music.

"You like bbno$?" John asks when I start to play the music.

"Yeah, you do to?" He laughs softly.

"You could say that. I'm friends with him-." I cut off before he can continue.

"Wait, you what? How? That's awesome!" I practically shout, causing him to jump in his seat.

"Yeah, we met a few years back after I had heard his music for the first time, he was much smaller back then and it's cool to see how much he's grown." He has a fond smile on his face.

Looking at him made something spark in my chest, I could feel my cheeks heat up and I look forward again, letting the music surround me as I barely notice the cars on the road or the houses passing by beside us. I want him to talk about me like that someday, I want his voice to hold that same fondness as it just did, but for a different reason. I want to be the one that he thinks about when he's working a late shift, or when he's feeling sad, just to make him feel better. But would he want that with me?

I try not to dwell on the last part of the thought as we reach my house's driveway. He pulls in and we both get out, I assume he's just going to walk me to my door, and that's what he does. He grabs my hand and swings it violently between us, making me giggle as I let my arm go limp as he swings. When we get to the door, I think he's going to stop, but he instead pulls my hand up over my head and spins me around, letting his arm fall around my back when I face him again, my hands coming to rest on his chest.

"Well, this seems familiar." He whispers, his face close to mine, I smile

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