I ran through the forest, my feet pounding on the leave-strewn ground beneath me. My deep blue dress flapped around me and my blood pounded in my ears as I hurtled past the countless trees that stood watch to the events unfurling before them. I heard birds up above, chirping at me, as if they were trying to speed me along. I clutched the object I was holding in my hand even tighter, if I was to drop it now then all was lost. I couldn't run from him much longer, my lungs were screaming for me to stop, my legs in mutual agreement. I heard the sound of his approaching footsteps, beating like a drum on the twisting route I was taking through the forest, closing in on me, like a predator to it's prey. Seeing the familiar clearing ahead of me, I used my last ounce of strength to speed forward to supposed safety. Once in the centre of the small open space that held so many memories I stopped, turning to face my potential captor, concealing the object in my possession behind my back.

I saw that oh-so-familiar figure approach the clearing and I felt a small shiver run down my spine, from excitement or exhilaration I wasn't sure.

A smug smile grew on my face as he got closer.

"Oh what a surprise seeing you here Robin! Is something the matter?" I questioned sarcastically.

"Oh very funny Maria. Give it back." Robin responded, walking down to meet me at the clearing, minding the roots that splayed out before him. That was one of the advantages of living in the forest your whole life I supposed; knowing where to put your feet if you didn't want to experience the pain of a badly twisted ankle, or worse.

"Give what back Mr DeNoir?" I asked innocently, tilting my head to the side slightly.

He reached the bottom of the clearing and started walking steadily towards me. "Oh I think you know exactly what Miss Merryweather." He said, getting closer with every word. My smug smile faltered as he came within breathing distance of my body, looking down on me slightly, with me looking up at him.

"Give."

"It."

"Back."

He rumbled, his eyes flashing darker than their already impossibly brown colour. He was so close that I could hear each word, crisp and clear, the way he wanted it, so I could have no denial about what he said. I gulped, it was unusual for us to be this close, it was probably due to the personal value of the item I had "stolen". It had him all worked up, I knew it would, but I still didn't expect him to enter my personal space, that rarely happened. However I hadn't anticipated my reaction to his, I didn't anticipate that him being so close to me would set my skin alive when I could feel his body heat radiating from him, I didn't anticipate that I would enjoy him being so near me, for reasons I didn't understand.

Taking a step back from him I presented the thing I had...borrowed from him. A hat; his bowler hat.

"What, this?" I asked, the smug smile returning to my face.

He reached for it, just as I yanked it behind me, holding it from his reach.

"Maria." He warned. He made another move to grab his hat, I changed the position of it, pulling it to the other side of me. Moves and counter moves. "Maria you're infuriating!" He cried exasperated. I grinned at him, about to make another witty remark when his arm swung behind me so fast I hardly saw it, but I felt what came next. It all happened in a flash; shocked I stumbled back, him being pulled with me, his hat flying across the clearing, and him barely catching himself on his hands either side of my head so as not to crush me with his weight s we landed on the ground, in a slightly deeper part of the clearing than we had fallen from. That's what you got when you were in a slightly slanted part of the forest I suppose. Damn roots. I thought. But I was stopped from thinking any further thoughts whatsoever when I glanced up at Robin on top of me, his legs entangled with mine. Our faces just inches apart, his curly brown hair un-obscured and un-tamed by his precious bowler hat. His eyes held something I had never seen before and his lips were slightly parted, his breathing heavy,shallow and noticeably faster than normal but nothing to match the rate of my heart beating beneath him. I could feel his chest brushing slightly against mine with every breath he took, I looked into those deep brown eyes, losing myself in them. It felt like for that one minute we connected. Neither of us said anything, the birds were no longer chirping, there was no rustling to be heard from any form of creature, there was no noise at all except Robin's heavy breathing and my beating heart. It was as if the whole forest had stilled, frozen in time, waiting to see what happened next. And then as if hearing my one coherent thought, Robin removed himself from the space above me with a cough and time continued, despite my unwillingness to leave that one moment. It wasn't until he had gotten up that I had even realised I had been holding my breath. I shakily exhaled it. He walked quickly across the clearing to retrieve his hat, leaving me lying on the forest floor, revelling in the connection I thought we had both felt. Before I had time to properly comprehend what had actually just happened he was back, offering out a hand to help me up, the hat squashing his fine brown curls. I took it gingerly, still unsure of what it was that I had felt; where my heart had been in my throat, my fingertips had been shaking and my brain had gone numb. But I knew I wanted to feel it again. As long as it was Robin who made me feel it. And that scared me beyond measure. When I had rose from the ground he mumbled something that I couldn't hear let alone understand and walked away into the woods, the trees seeming to cover him, as if shrouding both him and the answer to the mystery he had left me with. Had he felt the connection I had? And if he did then why did he walk off like that? What even was it that he was making me feel? Had I fallen for him? Had he fallen for me, Quite literally? Or was it one-sided? Did he not like me? Did I even want him to like me? Were we not friends any more? All of these questions whirled around my head and I stood there, unable to answer a single one of them.