“Where are we going?” Man asks, shoving another branch out of his face. It snaps back with a snap.
“To my connection’s house.” I walk comfortably under the branches.
“Did we have to go this way?” He yelps loudly as yet another branch almost stabs his eye out.
“She lives in the woods, so yes.” Another crow caws nearby, and I quickly change directions towards it.
Man curses loudly as another branch attaches itself to his shirt. “You’re lucky you’re short.”
I shoot him an annoyed look, but he misses it.
I stop in a small clearing. “We’re here!”
Man finishes wrestling off another branch that snagged his shirt. He stumbles into the clearing. “How is this the place? There’s nothing here–”
“SHH! Do you ever shut up?” I snap. “I need to listen!”
“You’re the one to talk,” He mutters.
Three crows fly over the trees, landing in front of us. One of the crows caws at me.
“They want something for entry,” I say.
“How do you even know what they are saying? They’re just a bunch of crows.” Man says, very stupidly.
One of the crows' caws in offense.
“That’s rude,” I say, glaring at him.
“What can they do? They're just birds.”
I scowl. “I’d be quiet. Crows aren’t very nice to rude people.”
The crow caws again so I quickly dig into my pockets, searching for something that the crows will take. Usually something small and shiny works. I came up with a gum wrapper and–
“Ah, I was looking for that guitar chip!” I say, holding it up in victory.
“Uh, can you please hurry and find something?” Man asks. The crows had moved closer to him, their black eyes shining menacingly.
“I don’t have anything else…” I trail off. “Do you have anything small and metal?”
Man eyes the crows wearily, but compiles. He pulls out a small silver coin. “Will this work?”
The crows suddenly fly towards him, and he stumbles backward. One of them snatches the coin out of his hand, and they fly off into the night sky.
“Thanks for that save!” I say, smiling at him in thanks.
He quickly shifts his gaze away from me. “N–no problem.”
There’s a loud crack as a tree trunk splits open across the small clearing.
“Welcome to the Witch’s Wood!” I say excitedly.
Beyond the hole is another clearing, with a small hut in the middle of it.
“It’s kinda…underwhelming?” Man says.
“Yeah, thought the same thing when I saw it the first time.” I duck under the low opening and step into the clearing on the other side. Man follows closely behind me, hitting his head on the low opening.
“Why are the shadows moving?” he asks.
“Those aren’t shadows,” I say, squinting at them.
Hundreds and hundreds of crows line the trees, the ground, and the small hut.
“Why crows?” Man asks, dodging a group of them.
“They’re a witch’s,” I respond.
“A witch’s?! Your connection’s a witch?!”
“Yep. And you better not be rude to her too.”
“The house is so small though,” He mutters.
“Shut up, I told you not to be rude.” I walk up to the front door, knocking loudly.
There’s some scuffing before the lock clicks open. As soon as the door opens, the girl squeaks in surprise and throws her arms around me.
“Chris!” She says.
“Hi, Hazel!” I say, laughing. Her poofy hair tickles my nose. “I thought your crows would tell you about us before we came.”
“They're off doing something else for me. And it’s not like anyone else visits me anyway.” She finally lets me go. She spots Man over my shoulder. “Who’s this?”
“You know that guy’s houses I was burning down in America? Yeah, that’s him.”
She raises her eyebrows in surprise. “What’s he here for?”
“I burned down his house, so he had nowhere to go.”
“Should’ve guessed.” She holds out her hand for him to shake, smiling. “Nice to meet you! I’m Hazel.”
He lightly shakes her hand, his eyes skeptical.
“You both should come in, it’s getting late.” She turns into the house.
As soon as she walks in, Man whispers into my ear, “Is that the witch?”
“Yep.”
“She’s also underwhelming,” Man says, glancing around the small house.
I shrug. “Not everyone with supernatural powers is scary.”
Her house is small but cozy. There’s a kitchenette in the corner and a small table and some chairs to go along with it.
“I don’t have any places for you guys to sleep, other than that couch.” She points to a small green couch in the corner beside her desk. “Sorry. I got rid of your bed after you moved, Chris.”
“It’s fine, we can sleep there,” I say, setting my flamethrower down beside the door.
Man looks like he’s about to complain, but he doesn’t say anything. He sits down carefully, the springs on the couch squeaking loudly. I settled down beside him.
Hazel climbs the ladder to her lofted bed, and with a snap, all the candles flicker off. I shut my eyes and drift off to sleep.
*DREAM*
My mother stands in front of me, her face grim. My father stands beside her, his face blurry. I don’t remember much about him other than he used to make blueberry pies. He died when I was four.
My mother starts talking, but her words come out warped. “Chris, y–you…how did you…embarrassment…making me s–sad…all your fault…”
“What are you saying?” I ask, my voice coming out squeaky.
She glares at me and looks at my father, who is fading more and more.
“You need…nothing but a joke…help yourself…”
“Mom, what are you saying?” I ask, and her gaze turns icey.
“N–NO…YOU’RE NOt–t helping…” My mother continues to glare at me, and my father is almost all faded away.
“Mom, I'm sorry! I can’t hear you!” I reach for her, but she turns the other way towards my fading father.
Tears pour down my face as she turns away from me, and says one last thing, “You’re a disappointment.”
Everything falls apart, and I fall through the cracks. I fall through the black, with nothing for me to hold on to.
I jolt awake. The soft caw of crows and the chirp of crickets greet my ears. Cold sweat drips down my face, and my hands are shaking. Beside me, Man sifts in his sleep. Hazel is snoring softly, and a lone candle on her desk flickers in the dark.
Man shifts in his sleep again. “Are you okay?” Man mutters drowsily. His eyes flash in the dark, searching my face. “You were whimpering in your sleep.”
I shift my gaze away. “I’m fine.”
He mumbles “Okay.” before falling to sleep again. I lay in the dark until my mind drifted off to sleep.
*Morning. Man (a.k.a Guy)’s POV*
The sounds of birds fill my ears, and the sun is warm on my face. I crack my eyes open. I look at the guy curled up against my side. Chirs, as the witch lady said. He snores softly, looking more peaceful than he did last night.
He looks kinda…adorable.
“Hey,” I say, nudging him. “Get up.”
“Five more minutes, Mom,” He mumbles into my side.
“Chris, you need to get up.” He doesn’t move. I get up from the couch, and he slumps against the armrest on the couch, still asleep.
“Chris, you said that you would find me a way to get to my house!” I poke him in the arm.
“He’s not going to get up any time soon,” Hazel says from her lofted bed.
“How do you know?” I ask, scowling. We need to leave soon.
“He used to live here. He never gets up early.” She jumps down from her bed and walks over to her kitchenette. “While you're waiting, do you want some breakfast?”
Without waiting for my answer, she starts whipping up some waffles. She was done within minutes.
“There you go!” She says, pulling a chair out for me out of nowhere. She sets the plate of waffles on the table, setting one to the side for Chris.
I skeptically eye the chair in front of me. “Why are you being so nice?”
She raises her eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because he burns down my house and you seem to be friends.” I jab my finger in Chris’s sleeping form.
She lets out a laugh. “That doesn’t mean that I’m going to be rude. And also, did Chris ever be rude to you?” She takes a giant bite out of the waffle.
I scowl. “Yes! He burned down most of my houses!”
Hazel pauses. “Well, other than that. He has his reasons. He thinks he’s doing good.”
“How?! He’s ruining my business! My Father–I won’t have any houses after he’s done!”
“Then convince him you aren’t evil. From what I’ve heard, he’s made you seem way worse.” She takes another bite of the waffle. “Also, are you going to eat your waffle?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Your loss.” She pulls my plate over to her and starts to eat that waffle as well.
After she finishes the waffles she stacks the plates and scoots them aside.
“How am I supposed to have him stop thinking I’m evil? And where the heck* is he even from? He seemed confused about rent.”
She quirks an eyebrow. “What's the rent?”
I scowl at her and she rolls her eyes. “I’m joking. He doesn’t know because he’s from Hell, and that’s not how housing works down there.”
“There you go joking again. He said the same thing to me.” I mutter, crossing my arms.
She squints her eyes at me. “What do you mean by a joke? I’m telling the truth.”
“Sure. And witches are real, and so are talking wolves. Oh, and flying pigs,” I say sarcastically.
“You’re making fun of us, aren't you?” She asks, giving me an unimpressed look.
“You expect me to believe this?” I say.
“You believe what you want. But don’t say I didn’t tell you anything,” She says flatly.
“Fine, let’s say that guy, Chirs, is a demon. How do I convince him that I’m not evil?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “If you know him so well.”
“Find him something else to focus on. He will move on, and then you can go on your merry way.”
“Is it that easy? Just find him something else to call evil?”
“Yep.”
Chris mumbles something and shifts in his sleep, the couch springs squeaking beneath him. He suddenly jolts up, his hair sticking up everywhere. His eyes anxiously search the room. He calms once he sees me and Hazel. He gets off the couch and walks over to the table.
“Morning!” He says, already perky.
“Morning Chirs,” Hazel says and pushes the plate of waffles towards him. “Eat your breakfast. I hear you guys have to leave soon.”
He nods, glancing at me before shoving the waffle into his mouth.
“What were you guys talking about?” He asks after finishing his waffle.
“Nothing important,” Hazel says. “I would leave now if you guys need to get to the city.”
“How do you know we need to go to the city?” I ask, frowning. We never told her.
“Crows,” she says simply.
I scoff.
“Come on, Man. If you want to make it to the bus stop in time we have to leave,” Chris says, slipping the strap of his flamethrower over his shoulder.
I get up from the table. “Goodbye,” I say flatly.
She doesn’t say anything back. Chris opens the door, the fresh morning air a sweet smell on my nose.
“This way to the bus!” Chris says, climbing through the tree truck. I follow closely behind.
“Were you also being rude to Hazel?” Chris asks.
“No!” I duck under another branch. “Did she expect me to believe that you, of all people, are a Demon?”
Chris glares at me. “You were being rude.”
I ignore him, ducking under another branch.
After trudging through the woods for several minutes in silence, the trees finally break. The bus stop was down the street, so we made our way towards it. The bus comes chugging down the street. It stops at the bus stop before we get there, and it drives off.
“Wait!” I yell, running after it. “We’re right here!”
“Dang* it!” Chirs says in frustration. “The next bus doesn’t come for another two hours!”
Chirs grumpily sits down on the bench, grumbling to himself.
I ignore him and pull out my phone. “I can call to have someone pick us up.”
Chirs raises his eyebrow at me. “Why didn’t you just call them earlier? It could’ve saved you some time.”
I wince. “Because…well, because I don’t especially like being around him.”
Chris gives me an annoyed look. “You made me bring you over here just because you don’t like someone?”
“Well, when you say it like that…”
“Please just call them. If you think I’m so miserable to be around, at least he seems better.”
I stare at him. “I never said that.”
“You hinted at it pretty strongly.” He continues to avoid eye contact.
“Chirs, I never–”
“Then why were you being so rude to Hazel? Why did you call the police on me?” He asks, looking me right in the face.
“Because you burned my house down! That’s what you’re supposed to do! And I wasn’t being rude to Hazel, she was saying crazy stuff!”
Chris scowls. “Just call the person, please. I want to go home.”
I frown. I’ve never seen him so down before. “Fine, I’ll call him.”
I swipe through the contacts, clicking on the one that says James. It rings once before he picks up.
“Hey! Guy! Long time, no talk!” He says.
“Hey, James. Can you do me a favor and come pick me up? I don’t have my car keys and we just missed the bus.”
“We?” He asks. “Who’s with you?”
“A friend.”
“Mhm, okay. I’ll come pick you up. Still have locations on?”
“Yes.”
“See you then!” The call ends with a beep.
Chris is looking at me weirdly.
“What?” I ask.
“We’re friends?” He asks in a hopeful voice. The sparkle is back in his eyes.
“I just had to tell him that to shut him up…” I trail off as he looks sad again. “Well I don’t mean it–” I pause. Why did I care so much?
I sit beside him. My phone dings from a text message. It’s from James. “He’ll be here in ten minutes.”
Chris doesn’t say anything in response. We sit in silence until James pulls up in a black SUV. He rolls down the window.
“Hey, Guy!” He says, waving at me.
Chris perks up at the sound of James’s voice. He waves back.
I climb into the passenger seat, and Chris gets into the back.
“So, where are we going?” James asks.
“The Park That Shall Remain Unnamed,” Chirs says.
“Okay,” James says, pulling the car out onto the road. “Are you going to introduce us?” James asks, glancing at me.
“Chris, James. James, Chris,” I say flatly.
Chris shoots a smile at James.
“Nice to meet you, Chris,” James says, smiling back.
There’s a moment of silence, before Chris yells out, “There’s a cupcake place here?!”
“Yep,” James says. “Those are some of the best, other than Guy’s of course.”
“Guy’s?” Chris asks.
“Umm, that Guy,” James says, pointing at me. “He bakes.”
Chris lets out a snort. “What?! His name’s what?!”
“Guy,” James says, raising an eyebrow. “His name is Guy.”
He bursts into full-out laughter. “His name is Guy?! That’s the weirdest name I’ve ever heard!”
I turn my head around, staring at him. “It’s weird?” I ask.
That makes him laugh even harder. “Yes, It’s weird!” He says between gasps for breath. “Have you ever met another person?!”
“I was homeschooled,” I mutter.
That makes him laugh even harder. “That explains it!”
I scowl, and James looks at me weirdly.
We arrive at the park, and Chris gets out of the car.
“You have a way to get home, right?” James asks.
“Yep,” Chris responds, smiling and waving.
He slams the door shut, and we drive off.
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