Hey guys! Gonna start off with saying that I'm sorry for the wait on my other story, but I'm not dead and a chapter will be coming, I promise. I know it's not much but hopefully this one-shot should entertain y'all until I work through some writers block.
Thank you so much for the support on the last chapter, everyone's reviews actually make me so happy!
I hope you enjoy, and happy New year :)
In hindsight, taking an unlit path back to her university residence at nine thirty in the night wasn't Marina's brightest idea.
The path was made to be walked in the day, exemplified by the uneven dirt trail she continued on which proved more than a little difficult to walk without the use of her sight. The patchwork of moonlight on the trail wasn't exactly helping matters either, especially since most of the light was blocked off by trees, causing long shadows to be casted over the dirt.
Honestly, she could see pretty good in the dark anyway, but she still had her limits. One of them apparently including the sides of the trail, where darkness cast over bushes and trees prevented her from seeing anything but unexplained shadows.
She stepped into a patch of moonlight on the path. Something creaked in the forest. She walked faster.
Okay, logically she knew there wasn't anything in the woods that could threaten her. She was near a busy university campus after all. No animal that wanted to harm her would be this far out of the wilderness. Then she thought that maybe a busy university campus might be the perfect place for something other than an animal to be that wanted to say... kill her.
She walked faster.
She was practically jogging at this point, holding onto the straps of her book bag to keep it steady as she tried to swiftly escape her irrational thoughts. But God, the dark, the rustling leaves, the shadows, the unexplained noises... it all played a part in creeping her the hell out, even if she knew her theories were a bit extreme.
Even so, something felt off. Or more specifically something sounded off. At first she thought it was just the dirt scrunching under her feet at her quick pace, until she heard a crutch of dirt when her foot was off the ground. So like the extremely smart person she was, she immediately stopped walking, slowly turning with widened eyes and looking down the trail. She listened closer.
Footsteps. She heard them. Heavy, quick, but far away sounding footsteps. She squinted down the trail but saw nothing. She continued looking and as the footfalls drew nearer, she started to see a dark shape between the shadows of the path, only visible when it entered the lighted spaces. More than a small strike of fear instilled in her as she realized it was a person coming towards her. Fast.
Really, she should seriously be running away at this point. But as she stared at the progress the figure was making, she just really wished she had a speed radar because damn was this guy was going fast. Definitely fast enough to catch up to me, she noted as she finally came to her senses. She wasn't a runner, she knew that. And although her sprinting ability had never been tested under the current circumstances, she'd rather not take a chance. She looked from side to side, her only option lying in the dark sides of the path which had creeped her out so much earlier, and she definitely didn't want to stoop to crouching down in some strange bushes.
She glanced back down the trail, and the figure was closer now. Surprisingly closer considering how little time had gone by since she last checked on the position of the person in question. Actually, she figured out that he was a man just based on the height and stature. Her eyes widened because no way would she be able to outrun or outfight a guy. Sure she was fit, but running at super speed was a little beyond her abilities.
He was super close now, almost to her. He was still sprinting aggressively and Marina's heart pounded the hardest it ever had. Yup, she thought distantly, I'm going to die tonight because I was too much of a wimp to hide in some damn bushes.
The only thing she could think to do was step backwards as the man came closer, his pace not slowing in the slightest. Her feet moved backwards on their own, which was fortunate because her mind really wasn't in any state to be telling her body directions. He kept coming closer. She kept moving back. He was right there in front of her. Her heart pounded frantically.
One more step back and she moved out of the shadow, into a patch of moonlight.
The man screamed.
She was too surprised to even jump at the reaction, because oh my God, what the hell was he screaming about? She was the one being chased down by a psycho killer who probably wanted to wear her skin as a suit, and he was scared? She distantly thought her predicament deserved at least a little more respect than a random screech into the dark, even if it was coming from the guy who was causing her fear.
Suddenly a thud and a grunt sounded in quick succession and, oh, did he actually trip up? She couldn't see too well in the dark, but she did see the tall figure tumble to the ground in what she thought was an extremely ungraceful fashion for a seasoned killer. And then, for the umpteenth time in the last couple minutes, she thought that she should definitely be running now. Far away. But all she could do was stare in a little bit of pity as he struggled to pick himself up, muttering what sounded like... apologies?
Marina shook her head. What the hell was going on?
Against her better judgment, and literally all advice spewed by news channels for the situation, she cautiously moved closer to the man, where he was almost hilariously disoriented on the ground. Taking a steadying breath, she couched down slowly and put a hand on his arm. Her eyes widened when his head whipped in her direction at the touch, and she thought for a second that it was the end.
"Oh God!" He got up so fast that her hand fell from his arm and he stumbled back a couple steps when he stood straight, running a hand through his hair. She was so surprised by his outburst that all she could do was stand and watch with wide eyes as he took a step in her direction, making strange hand gestures. "I almost ran into you! I'm so sorry! I swear I had no idea you were there, I was running because I'm afraid of the dark!"
He was panting, definitely out of breath from either the run of his fear. Marina didn't bother telling him that getting run into was the least of her worries. And as she looked at him, breathless and almost scared, she realized how far her worries were from the truth. It was funny, so she laughed. It was soft but it ended almost as soon as it started because she really shouldn't be laughing. No, a suspicious man just went from 'serial killer guy' to 'clumsy sorry guy' in less than a second, this was not a laughing situation.
"It's okay. Um..." Marina didn't know what to do with her hands. The man stood in front of her expectantly like she was saying the most important thing in the world, when in reality she had no clue what to say at all. She breathed out a laugh again, feeling better about it when she saw his grin, even in the dark. "Are, uh... are you alright?"
"Me?" He asked, and he sounded so genuinely shocked that Marina looked around for a second, wondering if there was anyone else she could be talking to. He noticed and held out his hands. "Sorry, it's just I should be the one asking if you're alright. I mean, it must have been a little, uh, frightening for you." He brought his hand to the back of his neck. She still couldn't see his face very well, but imagined there would be a sheepish expression on it judging by his apologetic tone.
"Yeah, a little. But I'm good." She nodded even though he likely couldn't see her and stuffed her hands in her hoodie pockets, wondering where to take the conversation from here. She figured walking away would be rude.
Just as the silence began to feel awkward, the stranger pointed down the path in the direction he was running. "So, are you going that way?"
Marina automatically glanced in the direction like she needed to remind herself which way to walk. "Yeah, I'm heading to residence."
"Ah, cool cool. Great..." He clapped his hands together and nodded. There was another silence.
Marina decided to break it this time, taking a couple steps back. "Anyway, so I should probably get going-"
"Oh yeah, of course." He made a gesture down the path and Marina nodded, starting to walk away. It was only a couple seconds before he spoke up again. "Just- um..." She turned back around, looking at him expectantly. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm going that way too and it's kinda creepy out here, so uh... could I maybe walk with you?"
Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he watched her nervously. She hadn't quite expected that request, and didn't know if it was a good idea because literally two minutes ago he was running toward her like he wanted to kill her. But then she recalled the rest of the sheepish exchange, and she couldn't help but feel bad for the guy.
"Sure." She replied, laughing a little at the way he visibly perked up, standing straighter and his grin showing through the dark again.
"Really?" He asked, though he obviously wasn't questioning it by the way he quickly caught up to her. "Thanks. I don't even know why I took this stupid path, it's like pitch black and I suck at seeing in the dark."
She chuckled and looked up as they passed through a patch of moonlight. Okay, wow. He was definitely handsome, and she knew immediately that he was just one of those people born to be cheerful. It was shown in his smile and the brightness in his green eyes. His curly hair almost touched his eyebrows since it was a bit too long, but it was probably a mess from the running and the fall, and she didn't mind anyway. It looked amazingly carefree, and it's what she immediately pinned his personality as. His eyes turned to her just as they entered a shadowed part, and then then it was too dark to see each other again.
"My name is Joseph, by the way." He said.
Right, she almost forgot she didn't even know his name. He stuck out his hand and she shook it. "Marina."
"Ah." He took his hand away, his tone sounding like she just told him the most interesting thing in the world. "Of the Sea..." He said a little quieter.
Her eyebrows furrowed, and the young woman looked up even though she could only see a minimal amount of his expression. He was probably still smiling. "What?"
She could see his eyes a little though, and they widened a bit. "Oh, sorry. I take Latin." He explained, which did not answer her question in the slightest. He seemed to realize this and continued. "Uh, your name, Marina, is the feminine version of the word marinus which means 'of the sea'."
"Oh wow." Her amazement was genuine. She had no idea her name meant anything, let alone being told the meaning by a stranger. Well, he wasn't exactly a stranger anymore. She knew his name after all.
"Yeah, some of it is cool. Most of it isn't." He shrugged and if a shrug could be cheerful, his was.
She smiled. To keep the conversation going, she asked, "What does your name mean?"
His silence was probably telling of his answer. "You know," he started with a laugh, "you would think that would be the first thing I would find out, but you would be wrong." Marina laughed and he grinned. "It probably doesn't mean anything. Or nothing cool like yours anyway. I guess it's hard to beat a Sea Queen."
"That is a tough one." She agreed. Joseph's laugh was easy and smooth, the kind of sound that comes from someone who laughs a lot, or at least likes to laugh. She felt better because before now, he was the one keeping the conversation interesting. She was glad that she at least got to say something of worth. "I have a question."
He made an elaborate hand gesture, and she wasn't quite sure what it meant until he said, "Ask away, Your Majesty."
"Out of everything you could have chosen... Latin?" She usually wouldn't be so blunt with people she just meant, but she felt that Joseph just had a way of making people feel comfortable. Either that or the fear from the earlier situation loosened her up.
"Yeah..." They stepped into the moonlight again and she could see his face was screwed up. "I needed an elective and the rest were all eight o'clock classes." He tilted his head. "Well, except for french, but I really hate french."
They stepped into a shadow again, and judging by a look ahead and the sudden density of trees, they wouldn't have a chance to enter another spot of moonlight for a while. She was suddenly happy this guy turned out not to be a serial killer, because even with her decent vision in the dark, even she would have had to question continuing on her own at this point. Although, she didn't know how much help she would get from Joseph if they were faced with an actual problem. If he put his obvious running abilities to use, she would be left in the dust.
"I like french." She stated.
"You're probably good at french. I suck at it."
"Well, I suck at Latin, so you've got me beat there."
He looked down at her. She couldn't see the details of his face, but she could see his teeth when he grinned. "Fair enough." He said eventually. "But I bet you would be great at it. You seem smart."
"You've known me for less than five minutes. How can you tell?" She pointed out.
"Easy, you're wearing a book bag. Clearly you have some brains." She felt her bag lift a little off her shoulders, and she really hoped it was Joseph pulling on it for emphasis. "And apparently some serious shoulder strength. Jesus, what's in here?" He let go and she felt all the weight on her shoulders again. Sure it was heavy, but she didn't notice anything until he said.
"Um, Bio, Chem, and psych." At his silence, she continued. "You know, midterms are coming up."
Joseph let out a short, disbelieving breath. "See? Smart." He tapped the side of her head and she vaguely wondered if the casual contact stage of a friendship should be reached after five and a half minutes of knowing someone. She didn't say anything about it and looked at his hand as he held it in front of her expectantly, palm up.
"What?" She asked. Did he want a high-five or something?
"Let me carry your bag for you." He requested.
"Oh, no it's okay. You don't need to."
"Queen of the Sea..." he paused dramatically, "I must."
"Why?" She asked, not accusing, just amused.
"There are many reasons, most of them involving the events of the last few minutes." He admitted, making the girl alongside of him roll her eyes but secretly agree. "Marina of the Sea," He had a theatrical tone to his voice which made her feel like he was about to go on a spiel, "if you don't let me carry that bag for you, my life will be forever plagued by sleepless nights and crushing guilt for never being able to make it up to you. So I ask, once more... may I please carry that lead weight you call a bag for you?"
She pressed her lips together to hide a smile because mock-serious speeches like this required a mock-serious response. But it was foolish because he couldn't even see her face, even though she had a sneaking suspicion that his facial expression was committing fully to his solemn roll. She slid her bag off her shoulders with a sigh that betrayed her grin completely, trying to put it in his hand as light as possible.
"Ah." He swung it onto his shoulder with what she assumed to be a sound of triumph. "It truly is an honour, Your Majesty." He shifted the bag with a grunt. "Are you sure there's not more in here? It seems really heavy."
She thought about it. "Of yeah, I forgot. It also has my french stuff."
"Of course it does." He said bitterly, which made her giggle and him grin. They walked a few steps in silence, which was weirdly comfortable considering how little time they knew each other. Joseph didn't let it go quiet for long though. "I like you, Marina of the Sea." He stated randomly, then nodded as though to confirm it.
The proclaimed Queen of the Ocean's eyebrows shot up at the firmness of his statement. Could someone really be that confident about liking someone they just met? But then, she thought she liked Joseph pretty well too. She actually felt a startling amount of fondness for him, considering he was the same person that nearly caused her twenty-three heart attacks not long ago. She was fairly certain that literal years were taken off both their lives due to that incident, but did she like him anyway? The answer was obvious.
"Uh, thanks." She replied. "You seem alright too."
She inwardly cringed at the statement. Not everyday someone determinedly proclaimed their new fondness of her, and the one time it happened she just had to reply with what might be the most deflating sentence she's ever uttered. It was at this point when she started to think that the creepy bushes on the side of the path were starting to look strangely appealing.
To her surprise -and immense relief- Joseph put a hand to his heart, and even though she'd known him for only a little amount of time, she could tell he was about the make things easy again. "Awe!" He gushed, drawing out the sound and punctuating it with a grin that seemed to light up the dark. "I just got complimented by Royalty. This is officially the highlight of my week- no, the highlight of my month."
She rolled her eyes but was weirdly flattered. She knew, after all, that he was only joking. "If this is the highlight of your month, it can't be going too good." She teased anyway.
"You're wrong." He accused immediately, chipper and bright. She vaguely thought that this might be the one time in her life when she was happy to be on the receiving end of those words. "This month has been spectacular. But running into you has been the most spectacular moment by far."
Something inside or chest twisted in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant. She realized suddenly that it was nervousness, but not the bad kind. It was the kind of nervous you get when you're waiting in line for a roller coaster, the anxiousness of waiting to find out what you got on a test you already know you crushed. She didn't know why it was happening. She had just met the guy for God's sake. But even as she kept repeating that in her mind, she couldn't help but believe that he might have made her month a little more spectacular too.
"Well, I'm glad I could help?" She shrugged even if he couldn't see it and her face felt a little warmer than usual. Even though Marina had been cursing the darkness ten minutes ago, she found herself thanking it now.
Joseph didn't laugh, but she could tell he was smiling. And even though he couldn't see her red face, she had a feeling he knew, and was getting a kick out of it. "Oh, you did help. Immensely." He nodded. "I have a feeling we're going to be good friends, Marina of the Sea."
"Oh yeah?" She replied, just so she could reply with something. Because honestly? It was becoming increasingly harder to come up with responses.
"Oh yeah." He assured, but without any question whatsoever. He seemed to rethink it though, and held up a finger. "Actually, great friends. We're not going to be good friends, we're going to be great friends. Especially if you like coffee. Do you like coffee?"
Marina didn't comment on the fact that she was almost certain that there wasn't a university student in existence who didn't practically live on the drink. "I do happen to enjoy a bit of coffee every now and then." She confirmed, looking up at him and knowing his grin was coming before she saw it.
"Great. That's great." He laughed a little. Marina couldn't help but look down to hide her growing smile, because the guy actually said it with the earnestness of someone who was truly glad that someone else liked coffee.
"Yeah, it is great." She agreed. "I really like that spot by the library. They have the best iced coffee and-"
"Wait, iced coffee?" He interrupted incredulously.
Marina looked up cautiously, but it was too dark to see anything. She just had to assume by his tone that he was deeply offended. "Yes, iced coffee." There was a short silence before Joseph scoffed. She saw him shake his head and she sighed dramatically, sensing a speech coming. "Why?"
He clicked his tongue and shook his head again, like he was going to let it go. But after a moment, he must have decided the issue was simply too important to leave alone. "Oh you know, nothing except for the fact that coffee is supposed to be hot?"
"It's good."
"Coffee is supposed to be hot!" He repeated passionately. "Why would you put ice in something that was warm first? Obviously it's supposed to be warm."
"Well, maybe it's a hot day." Marina replied, struggling to keep the laugh out of her voice. "Maybe you don't like hot drinks. Maybe-" she took in a breath with mock incredulity, playing along, "Oh my God, maybe it's actually good..."
He was silent for a minute, pretending to think it over. And he probably had a really serious look on his face too. "No." He said finally.
"Lots of people drink it." She continued. He grunted his disapproval but she just continued, now with a grin. "There's commercials for it and everything." She sighed. Still nothing. "More than half the population drinks it."
"I'm gonna need to see some proof on that, Your Majesty." He replied finally.
"Yeah, I'll get right on that." She assured. He nodded seriously and she couldn't help but laugh. He grinned and took it as a sign to continue.
"You're probably one of those weird people who don't like pineapple on pizza." He said out of the blue.
She didn't even try to act offended. "Isn't liking pineapple on pizza the weird thing?"
It seemed she had stumped him for a moment. "Perhaps." He said slowly. "But if it's good then it doesn't matter."
"Iced coffee is good."
His head snapped to look at her even though she couldn't see his expression in the dark. He probably expected her to somehow perceive his facial expression in her head from the motion alone, which, in her mind, was completely ridiculous considering she definitely hadn't already pinned it as narrowed eyes and a frown in record time.
"While I disagree with you with all of my being on that opinion, you do make a good argument." He finally admitted. She had to stop herself from muttering a smug 'ha!' At him, and instead chose the higher ground; a self satisfied grin that he had no chance of seeing in the dark. "How does tomorrow sound?"
Her eyebrows tugged in, her expression lasting only a second after the confusion set in. "Tomorrow? For what?"
"Well, you see, Your Majesty," he pointed a quick finger at her, as though chiding her for disattention. "I was going to suggest that we have coffee, at this rumoured spot by the library. If you like it so much. I'll even get you one of those..." he paused, and with what seemed like a physical effort, he said, "iced coffees."
Marina would bet quite a lot of money that the boy actually shuddered while saying it, and the image brought a smile to her face. "That sounds good."
"Really? I mean, uh... yeah, sweet." Joseph cleared his throat, almost acting shocked she actually agreed. She couldn't imagine why. Well, except for the whole thinking-she-was-going-to-get-mauled-by-a-strange-man-with-incredible-sprinting-abilities incident. But that happened a whole ten minutes ago now, the ordeal was practically ancient. "So... I guess I should get your number." He continued slowly, like he was testing the idea out to see how she'd react. When no obvious alarms went off, he carried on. "You know, since we're going to be hanging out in the near future."
Marina hummed and nodded her head in solemn agreement. "That would be helpful, wouldn't it?"
"Extremely helpful, yes." He said in the same serious tone she was using. "Not to mention that we're now good friends."
"Great friends." She corrected emphatically.
"How could I forget?"
She chuckled as he reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, humming something under his breath that she was pretty sure wasn't even a real song as he opened the contacts app. As she was filling it out, he spoke up excitedly.
"Marina of the Sea, I believe I see the end of the trail."
She looked up from the phone and sure enough, up ahead a patch of light interrupted the surrounding darkness. It was surprisingly close considering neither of them had noticed it before this. "Would you look at that, it does have an end." She said. Continuing her typing, she muttered. "I'm not sure how this ever got labeled as a shortcut..."
That easy laugh sounded from the guy beside her, and she smiled as she handed the phone back, which he took somehow cheerfully. "I guess we're just lucky we found good company."
She felt a blush on her cheeks and hoped it would be gone before they got out of the dark. "I guess we are."
Joseph sighed happily before a moment of comfortable silence. He finally said, "But seriously? I'm never taking this path again."
"Me neither." She laughed, then suddenly struck a serious tone. "Besides, I heard there's this really creepy guy who just runs up and down scaring biology majors."
"Oh really?" He played along. "Well maybe, the creepy guy is just misunderstood. And maybe the biology major scared him more than he scared her."
"I don't think so."
"Agree to disagree then."
She couldn't help a laugh as they approached the end of the trail, where a light from one of the dorm buildings was breaking through the trees in a dim pattern of leaves and branches. They walked through it and finally emerged below an old brick building, stepping onto a sidewalk that branched in two directions.
"Let there be light!" Joseph cheered, maybe disturbing some of the students that happened to have their windows open, but that was their problem. "Okay, so which way are you..." he looked down at her and suddenly stopped, the words trailing off into nothing.
"What?" She asked, confused.
He blinked and cleared his throat, a shade of red coating his cheeks for what Marina was almost certain was the first time in their conversation. He looked away, and when he spoke, his voice was a lot quieter than it was before. "I tripped up in front of a really pretty girl."
At first Marina didn't understand, until she realized that it had been too dark for Joseph to see her until now. They had this huge conversation about pizza toppings and majors and Latin, and made plans to go out for coffee, all while he didn't even know what she looked like. Strangely, she found that part more flattering than the compliment. But she felt heat rise in her face anyway because, really, what else are you supposed to do when a guy calls you pretty?
"Don't worry, it wasn't that terrible." She assured.
He looked at her, deadly serious. "I screamed."
"More like a shriek actually." She grinned as he cringed and shook his head. "Or a screech or-"
"I think I get the picture." He cut her off, holding up a hand. She laughed and he smiled at her, and okay, it looked a lot nicer in the light. She pointed in the direction of her dorm since she was pretty sure that was the question he was going to ask her before he stopped. "I'm going that way."
He nodded and took a glance in the direction, as if deeming it safe. "I'll walk you." He decided, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans as they started in that direction.
"Just in case any scary guys almost run into me?" She guessed.
"Exactly. I can't leave royalty unprotected."
It was only a couple more minutes until they reached her building. Joseph waited patiently as she pulled her key card out of her back pocket. "You know, I'm really happy you're not as creepy as I thought." She said genuinely.
He struck an odd expression, one eyebrow arched and the other furrowed. But somehow it was what she had come to expect of him. "Not as creepy as you thought, but still creepy? Thanks I guess?"
She rolled her eyes but grinned anyway, especially when he chuckled. "Well, I thought you might have been a serial killer as first, so it's a huge compliment really."
"Right, of course. Sorry." Joseph said. "By the way, just out of curiosity, how much 20/20 do you watch?"
Marina laughed but decided it was probably better not to tell him that there was multiple recordings of that exact show stored in her PVR back home. Instead she scanned her card and heard the click of the lock opening before she pulled on the door.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled, and it was the kind of endearing expression that she was sure would get her in trouble some day, but for now it was completely innocent. She waved and he started to walk away.
"Oh, Joseph!" She called out. He turned around and looked at her in question. "My bag." She reminded.
His eyes lit up with the reminder and he rushed back, pulling it off his shoulder with a sheepish grin. "Right, sorry." He put the heavy bag in her hand and started his retreat again, this time backing away and sliding his hands into the pocket of his university hoodie. He winked. "Catch you later, Sea Girl."
He turned and she rolled her eyes fondly before closing the door to her building, digging in her bag for the key to her room. Honestly, she had never been so glad that someone turned out not to be a serial killer.
Alright, that's it, hope you enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you thought :)