Faye was nervous, to say the least. This plan had sounded all nice in her head and, hell, when they had started out on the hike it had only been partially cloudy. The chances of raining were extremely low according to the weather forecast that morning — she had checked not once, but five times before leaving the house just to make that everything was perfect — and her hopes had been uncharacteristically high as she headed out to set up things perfectly.
It was meant to be a surprise for Diana and had taken the better part of an hour to arrange in just the right way in just the right smooth clearing amongst the trees. Faye only knew that the small patch of flat landscape was there because she deviated from the path so much in an act of adventurously curiously rebellion. It'd be like that since she started walking this particular hiking trail when she was younger and wanted to be left alone.
Diana had seemed excited when she asked her on this special date a few days ago.
Things had obviously changed. Her girlfriend of about a month was all stiff muscles and tight, thin smiles when Faye tried to engage her in conversation. When Faye tried to figure out just what the hell was going on, Diana just shook her head and changed the subject in an icily sweet tone of voice. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up and an unpleasant heaviness settle in her stomach.
"Diana, stop." Diana didn't listen until Faye raised her voice slightly, temper getting the best of her. "Diana, just stop!"
This brought her girlfriend's attention swiftly back around to her, eyebrow raised expectantly. Silence fell. It was ironic how the dynamics of their relationship had turned out. It had been expected that Faye would be the closed off one while Diana would be open and truthful about everything and anything. In reality, it was very much the opposite. Faye, so determined to make the relationship work, voiced the concerns and insecurities and questions when they popped up into their mind. Diana, assumedly afraid of getting close and left to feel as betrayed as she had felt by Adam, was reserved.
"What, Faye?" That same cold voice. It was remarkably unpleasant.
"Don't even, Diana." Faye wasn't about to be walked all over for some crime she wasn't even aware of committing. "What's wrong? Why are you acting like this?"
More silence. They gazed at each other. Diana looked away first, so Faye decided to close the distance between them. Something wet hit her hand as she reached out and her eyes were automatically drawn to the sky. The clouds had thickened and darkened overhead. One drop turned into a steady, but thankfully light, pattern of rain falling down on them. It could only be concluded that the reason for the sudden onset of a storm was an unintended side effect of their combined powers, since they were together, and negative feelings.
Diana hated storms.
"Okay. Diana, what is going on?" The moment that this question was asked, the rain increased. Oh, this was not a good sign. This was bad. Very bad.
"What were you doing with Cassie the other night, Faye?" The question came out razor sharp. It caught her off-guard and she must have look appropriately bewildered because Diana curled her lips and snapped, "When you were over at her house. All night. All night, Faye. I tried to ask her and she was just evasive and guilty-looking. What were you doing, Faye?"
Oh, no. No, no, no. It was all just a misunderstanding. Faye felt a smile form on her lips. Wrong move. It was the exact wrong thing to do as Diana's face flickered into an expression of rage. The drizzle became a full-on downpour at that moment.
"I've seen how see looks at you, Faye. The same way she looks at Jake or Adam." Diana's voice was raising in volume and the rain became slightly painful in its intensity. At that point, Faye was shivering a bit from the cold and the fact that she was soaked.
"Diana, no! It's not what you think. If you'll just listen-" Faye was cut off.
"No. No, I'm not hanging around for you to fall in love with her too, Faye. I thought you were different. Do you really think she's not just experimenting with you? Whatever, it's your loss." Diana was fleeing away from her within seconds. Faye swore under her breath as she shouted out Diana's name even as she girl vanished from sight. This was hardly a good time to be running off alone. It was wet and cold and dangerous especially since Diana wasn't familiar with these woods at all.
Damn it.
Faye spent a good twenty minutes stumbling and slipping along the increasingly muddy pathway. Her heart was racing and she was overwhelmingly afraid. What if Diana got disoriented and lost? What if she was hurt and alone? What if she couldn't hear Faye calling for her at all? The worry buried the hurt that she felt at being compared to Adam. Was that really how Diana expected her to act? Did she think that Faye was just another Adam Conant waiting to be lured away by the final addition to their Circle?
The wind howled and trees creaked as they struggled not to bend. The rain was blinding and the sound of the unnatural storm was deafening. The unforgiving rage of the storm and its temperamental outbursts gave Faye a bad feeling. Something like nausea churned in her abdomen. It was worrying and almost felt like stomachache from anxiety, but Faye knew that it wasn't. She didn't know how that she knew, only that her instincts were nagging at her as she searched unseeingly through the storm. Her feet led her automatically as though guided by preprogrammed directions.
It was only when doubt began to nag at her after following the indistinguishable path for a few moments that she heard a scream. Silently, she thanked every power that be for the connection between the members of their Circle. It had seemed all but useless until that very moment and she set off running.
Faye almost slipped in a pool of muddy water and only just managed to grab ahold of a tree when she saw, through wide eyes, Diana clinging to a snapped tree precariously hanging over the edge of a cliff. A cliff. Diana met her eyes and all that Faye could see was terror. When she saw the tree shift dangerously, she threw all caution to the wind and carefully slid forward, snatching a young sapling that was precariously close to the edge. It was no small miracle that Faye managed to grab onto Diana's wrist without falling over the ledge to certain death.
"I've got you. I've got you, Diana." Faye couldn't stop the panic from entering her voice.
Together, they managed to carefully negotiate Diana onto the tree so that she could crawl back to the safety of solid ground. It was only when Diana standing up and they were more or less face-to-face that arms crept around her neck and she felt herself being pulled close to her girlfriend. Faye refused the kiss, however, in favor of gently pulling both of their bodies further back into the woods. She just wanted to put distance between Diana and the abyss that had wanted to swallow her forever.
Diana was mumbling into her neck, face buried against her shoulder.
"What was that?" Faye asked shakily, still overcome by the thought that she may have lost Diana for good. The hiking trail was suddenly a far less welcoming than it had been in her pre-pubescence. Instead of being inviting, it had taken on a much more threatening atmosphere. All that she wanted to do was get Diana home where she would be safe.
"I love you, Faye."
Faye stopped trying to figure out the best route to the car so that she could stare uncertainly at Diana instead. This was obviously an admission from shock. That was all. Neither of them had said those particular words yet. She frowned gently, a bit disappointed and muttered, "You almost died, Diana. You don't have to mean that. It can wait, you know that."
"No, Faye." Diana softly pressed their lips together in an earnest show of devotion and tenderness. This was a rather rare moment, Faye could feel it from the sincerity and passion Diana was conveying in their kiss. It was a moment with all of Diana's defenses lowered. Faye tangled her fingers into her girlfriend's hair, trying to keep her as close as possible for the longest amount of time. Diana finally pulled away, pressing their foreheads together. "I mean it. I love you."
Faye was speechless and heat rushed to her cheeks before she could murmur, "I love you too, Diana."
They held each other in a comfortable silence. The storm had stopped. Then Faye laughed softly which brought on a quizzical stare from Diana.
"This is the last time I bring you out for a surprise picnic."
"Wait, what?
