My confusion and nervousness must've shown on my face. Zak gives a laugh then walks to stand in front of me.
"Clare, don't be nervous, it's okay." He whispers. I don't know if he thinks I'm nervous about soldiers finding us or the one blanket thing. I tense when he brushes his hand against mine.
"Come with me, I want to show you something." He says softly. He leads me out into the cool morning air and we walk down the streets a ways before turning into an opening in the woods. Great, more woods. We walk in silence as we near another opening. We tear through some underbrush and reach a small cliff. My mouth flies open at the view, glistening waterfall disappearing into the rocks below. Trees surrounding the edge like a green halo. There's a pool at the bottom, almost as blue as Zak's eyes. The morning sun makes the water turn a purplish color. The view has a peaceful look to it, birds chirping the sun's arrival. The sound of the rushing water flows together with the chirping, making me close my eyes and feel the breeze whip through my hair. I open my eyes to find Zak staring at me.
"What?" I ask, breaking the silence. He shakes his head and stands on the edge with me. This almost feels like a relaxing moment, the first one in four months. I look over at Zak, who's watching the sky ahead of us carefully, as if it's going to spring at any moment. "So, what do you like to come here for?" I ask. He looks at me then, he's watchful gaze subsiding.
"Usually to bathe, but sometimes I like to stand here and think." He replies, fiddling with his glove. A good bath does sound good right now.
"Um, would you mind if I go down there and maybe bathe myself?" I ask. He nods slowly and carefully takes my hand and leads me down the cliff. We climb down by placing our hands and feet on the grooves in the rock. Zak stays below me just in case I slip. We make it to the water and it's a lot warmer down here. I walk over to the water's edge and plunge my hand in, warm; actually bath water warm.
"Wow." I say drying my hand on my uniform.
"I'll bring you a towel and another uniform; you won't believe the stack I have from breaking in to the informatory." Zak exclaims, turning to climb up the grooves. I nod and say, "Alright."
Once Zak is over the cliff I quickly undress and descend into the water. The warmness of it defrosts my bones and sooths my sore muscles. I go under the water and rinse the grease and sweat out of my hair. I come back up and look around to see the waterfall pounding against the rocks. The peace of it all makes me close my eyes again. Now I know why Zak likes to come here so much. When I see Zak climbing over the edge of the cliff, I quickly swim to the edge of the water and shield my body against the rock surrounding the small pool.
"Find one that'll fit me?" I ask, putting my arms up on the moist rock. Zak walks over and sets the towel and clothes on a dry rock.
"Yea, I assume your favorite color is black so I got a black one." He says, gesturing towards my old uniform. I smile.
"Thanks." I say.
"No problem." He replies. Zak walks around the pool and disappears behind a wall of rock, clearly giving me privacy. I climb out of the water and wrap the towel around me. I quickly dry off and throw on the uniform, Zak coming back from behind the rock.
"Nice." He says walking up to me.
Once Zak finishes his turn at a good bath we sit on the edge of the over viewing cliff, the breeze whipping past us.
"So, what exactly happened back there?" I ask. Zak gives me a confused look, and then he realizes what I'm asking.
"Oh, I just robbed the grocery store, nothing big." Zak says. I give him a 'really' look and he shrugs.
"So, you just robbed a grocery store and then you had soldiers firing at you? You had to do it conspicuously?" I ask.
"Well, I was going to do it discreetly, but something drove me to something. I went temporally insane and just walked in with a gun. Then, when I was outside soldiers surrounding me, I saw you. Calm as ever, just staring at me. I decided to "take hostage" the little Snow Warner and all that stuff about you wanting me to kill you, wasn't expected." He says this softly. "I had no idea you wanted me to that. I thought maybe you would put up a fight for your country. I was wrong." He adds. I stare at my hands for a moment, and then return my gaze to his.
"If I'm found, they won't feel sorry for me. They're not trying to save me. They're looking for both us. They know that me giving up not fighting for myself, is weak. They now know that I'm not loyal that I'm resisting, and they're to kill me, Zak. And you if you're not careful." I say. Zak gives me an apologetic look and runs a hand through his hair.
"I never should have dragged into this." He says shaking his head.
"It's okay, I met you didn't I?" I exclaim. He locks his gaze with mine and smiles. We go back to our scene in the woods, the almost kissing scene. I close my eyes and breathe in his scent as he nears me. Overcoming shyness, I loop my arms around his neck and pull him against me. Our lips touch, but not quite.
"Remember when I wanted you kill me?" I ask in a sort of sarcastic tone. Zak smiles.
"No, I don't recall." He says.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't." I say before clashing our lips together. It feels…right. Like a part of me just knows that being with him is true and good. All my worries fade away as we tangle together. Our bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces. He wraps his defined arms around me, making me shiver then grow warm. The feel of him against me is magical; the sensation doing its part. We pull apart gasping for air. He runs a hand through my hair and I do the same. Silky smooth, like I imagined. I then realize something, the first magical thing in my life.
My first kiss.
