Cupid's Bow
Chapter 4
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As I blindly vault myself through the forest, I don't fight the tears that slip past my lids. I know I'm losing water but right now I just don't care. I'm sad and angry and just feeling too full of things to be rational about what I need.
Before this day, I don't think I'd ever run this much for anything. Too much exercise was frowned upon. Too much of anything was. Moderation was the key to the preservation of us. Of our quiet, group goodness. I hadn't minded. I was never much of a runner.
But right then, the ache and exertion I feel is more than relief, it's freedom. I'm away and flying-through and it doesn't matter that my throat is bone-dry or that my feet are stinging, that my hair is loose or my chest is aching. It doesn't even matter that one of Them spotted me, and is maybe even following me right now.
Because I'm running away from it all, and I'm not stopping.
OoOoOo
OoOoOoOo
OoOoOo
But inevitably, I run out of steam.
I don't so much as make the conscious decision to stop as just stop. My feet halt and my legs wobble, and I fall before I can think to catch myself.
Under the heat, I burn.
OoOoOo
OoOoOoOo
OoOoOo
Cold.
Wet.
Water.
I gasp alive as relief – pure and fresh – slips down my throat in kind, small waves.
My vision is dark as I swallow tide after tide down, feeling my aching throat cry out as its call is quenched. Every little last slip of tightness in my limbs seems to suddenly deflate, leaving me trembling with the left-over.
My eyes flutter when water spills across my lips and slips into my hair. Blinded by the brightness, it takes me a minute to realise where, and when I do, I'm overcome by the urge to… to…
"Shhh…"
My eyes snap open.
Ripping the sheen abruptly away, the first thing my body does is throw itself backwards – away – or at least attempts to, at any rate. But instead of hitting softness, my body only jolts slightly, but doesn't really move any. I blink too many times and too quickly at the shimmering face hovering so closely above mine, my hands feeling shaky but still pushing at his chest – only to recoil at the feel of his skin.
He makes a noise in the back of his throat at my squirming, his eyebrows furrowing. Mounting panic causes me to freeze for a moment, feeling the solid wrapped around me tense and tighten, the splash-colour of his eyes to become impossibly more. His intense gaze makes me feel trapped, and out of my peripheral, I just about see something green rise before –
Before I regain mind-body function again.
My squirms increase ten-fold as I try to break away from the something's-grasp while avoiding touching him. The green thing that had been rising abruptly slips out of his hand, spilling out fluid onto the softness below. Noises come from his throat again, sort of like huffs, as his arm lifts to meet the something-solid behind me. With panic, I realise that it was his other arm. And now they're both – they're both around me.
Again, I freeze.
He stares down at me as I stare up at him. But unlike my widened eyes, his are narrowed, and unlike my quick breathing, his is slow – deep.
Fear rattles my insides as he pulls me closer. I want to push against him, but my hands are caught. So all I can do is feel the unnatural heat of his bare skin through my clothes as he draws me in. His head twitches to the side as his gaze runs over my face… before settling on my eyes again. He looks at me carefully, like he's… like he's trying to… to tell me something?
Slowly, one of his arms unwinds from around my waist, but I'm stuck to his chest now, so close I'm sure the racing of my heart must be racing through his flesh. Without looking away from me, his arm reaches out and dips before returning; green thing in hand.
Warily, my gaze shifts to it as he brings it closer, swallowing thickly when it touches my lips.
Pressing them tightly together, I shake my head quickly.
No.
A soft whining comes from him at that, forehead scrunching and mouth dipping as I refuse. He holds my tighter, pulls me closer, head lifting slightly as he tries again.
I squeeze my eyes shut and turn my head to the side.
His sounds grow, and my body trembles as I feel the vibrations running through his chest. My breath grows short and my trapped hands curl into fists, thoughts running rampant as I –
Cold.
Wet.
Water.
My eyes pop open and I let out a startled yelp at the feeling of icy-cold spilling across my cheek, down the sliver of uncovered skin of my neck. Inevitably, my head snaps to the side, and I can only stare in shock at the sight of water-him, pouring water over me.
He waves the little green thing at me, and smiles.
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A/N: I meant to post this earlier but lost track of time while simultaneously baking a pie and watching Community. Sorry!