Chapter 8

The two remained like that for a few moments before Jarred pulled back.

Alice's face was deep red as she scrambled up and stood in front of Jarred, not meeting his eyes.

"Uhm...yeah...uh..." she said, scratching the back of her head.

His eyes fell to his feet, he hands held behind his back as he fiddled with his fingers. "I-I'm sorry..." He muttered. Why did I do that?! That was such a stupid decision...

"I-it's alright." Alice muttered as she fiddled with the strap of her bag.

"I shouldn't have done that." The other part of his mind was putting him down. That's all you can think of to say is "I shouldn't have done that." Why shouldn't you have done that?! You love her don't you? It's more of a crush. Still counts, so what's holding you back? Pascal. He forced himself out of his thoughts, now wasn't the time to argue with himself about it.

Alice just stayed silent. He thought he saw a flicker of disappointment cross her face. "S-sure." She said, the blush slowly leaving her face. Without meeting his eyes, she walked past him as she went to sit under the tree.

He followed her and sat beside her. That wasn't the right thing to say... He looked at Alice softly, tentatively taking her hand.

Alice pulled back, not meeting his eyes. "It's okay...don't worry about it." She murmured before turning to her bag.

"Alice please." His eyes glinted with sadness and fear. I was so close, now I've ruined it...

She stayed silent before murmuring, "What is it..."

He couldn't find the words to fit what he wanted to say, so he pulled her close to him in a hug. "Please don't leave." He whispered.

"I won't..." she replied quietly but didn't hug him back.

He let go of her. "I said the wrong thing before." He murmured looking at the ground. "That's what I shouldn't have done."

"It's alright..." Alice murmured before turning back to her bag. Knight whinnied softly before settling down beside the two.

Jarred sighed leaning back against the tree. I've messed up a lot in my life, but this is something I can't forget, and probably won't be able to fix completely.

The two fell into a slightly uneasy silence as Alice pulled out a small notebook and a pencil from her bag. Jarred watched as she opened it to a blank page in the middle and started sketching, looking up and staring at Knight before looking back at the paper.

"Drawing Knight?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah..." Alice murmured, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

Jarred kept silent after that, not wanting to disturb her concentration. His ADHD started acting up. He had to do something instead of sit. He started climbing up the tree.

As he was almost at the top, he heard Alice shout. "What are you doing?"

"Uhm, climbing." He called back. Alice had suddenly quieted down so Jarred looked to check. Alice was halfway up the tree towards him.

"Wait up!" she shouted.

He laughed and sat on one of the higher branches. "You should've stayed down there!" He said and hung upside down from the branch, crossing his arms.

Alice stuck out her tongue at him in response and started climbing higher.

"What if I fall! Who's going to catch me?" He said fear in his voice, but it was playful.

"Knight will!" Alice playfully shouted back as she sat on a branch facing Jarred. Knight whinnied in response from the base of the tree.

"I don't trust him with that!" He laughed.

Knight snorted and whinnied in response. Alice laughed. "I think he said that he can do it."

"I guess." He shrugged and sat up. "Whoa my head feels weird..."

"Well you did hang upside down." Alice snickered.

"I know what I did!" He stuck his tongue out at her. "We must be really high up though..."

Alice stuck out her tongue then laughed. Jarred noticed that the twinkle was back in her eye. "Yeah I know."

He smiled softly. "Knight!" He called to the stallion. "Get ready!"

Knight whinnied then took off, flying beneath them.

"See ya' down there." He winked at Alice before jumping off the branch.

Knight whinnied. He swooped down and caught Jarred just as he was halfway down. Jarred laugh, holding onto Knight's mane. "Come on Rabbit jump!" He called to Alice.

"My name's not Rabbit!" Alice shouted down, laughing as she stared at the two.

"I know it's not, but I'm gonna call you that from now on!" He laughed.

Alice laughed then stood up on the branch. "Ready Knight?" she shouted down. Knight whinnied as he circled the tree.

Jarred looked up at her with a smile. "Now Alice!" He called up to her.

Alice hesitated before jumping off, screaming all the way. "JARRED!"

He reached out catching her in his arms. "Careful Rabbit." He chuckled. Alice blinked a couple of times before smiling up at him. His gaze softened as he held her in his arms. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as Alice looked back at him.

"Knight, can you take us back down?" He told the Pegasus. Knight whinnied before gliding down. Alice wrapped her arms around Jarred's neck as she looked down at the ground. He held her closer to him as he dismounted and put her on her feet.

"That was great!" Alice said as she smiled up at Jarred, slightly skipping towards the bag.

"Yeah it was. So what's in the bag anyway?"

"Just my drawing materials." Alice said, picking up the sketchpad. "Look." she showed him the page she was drawing on. On the page was a detailed drawing of Knight as the Pegasus was lying down.

"That's really good." He said smiling at the picture.

"Thank you!" She said, closing the sketchpad and putting it in her bag. She turned around and smiled up at Jarred, her eyes shining.

Jarred smiled at her and pulled her close to him, his arms wrapped around her waist. He saw Alice's eye widen as her cheeks reddened. He could feel her heartbeat beat faster as she stared up at him.

He gently kissed her and closed his eyes.

Alice stayed still for a moment before he felt her kissing him back as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He drew her closer to him, this felt right, him and her. Together like this. He could feel their hearts pounding as he prolonged the kiss. He shivered a bit when Alice tangled her fingers in his hair.

"Alice?" a voice suddenly called out. A very familiar voice. "Where are y-"

Jarred pulled away hearing the voice. His eyes widened slightly seeing Pascal standing there.