Birch and Lawrence **OLD**

They Meet

It was sundown at the Kelton household. Dinner had long been eaten, Birch and Mary had previously taken their baths, and now their father sat them in the living room for the evening prayer. The family thanked the Lord for their food, their house, their taxidermy shop, and they had just uttered the last "amen" when suddenly.they heard an unusual noise from outside.

"What was that?" Mary asked when she heard the sound of leaves rustling.

Her father and brother heard it, too. "I dunno..." Mr Kelton said softly. They heard the noise again. Mr Kelton went into his office and grabbed the tiny handgun he kept hidden within a drawer. "Birch, come with me," he said as he gestured to the door. Mary wanted to come too, but Mr Kelton told her to stay inside so she could be safe. She was frightened for her brother, and flashed him a look expressing her concern as he was lead outside.

Being an experienced hunter, Mr Kelton crept out the front door without a sound, and signaled for Birch to come. They stalked to where they heard the noise, and discovered a dark figure in the family garden.

Lawrence gathered as many pears as he could in his small waist pocket, making sure nobody was looking. He was extremely tense, so tense that he nearly screamed when he heard a man shout "HEY!" from behind. Adrenaline shot through him at the speed of light, and he frantically tore out of the garden. His cover had been blown. Mr Kelton fired a warning shot, and it was enough to terrify both Birch and Lawrence. He turned his attention toward his son. "Go after him," he ordered.

"B-but, he could be dangerous," Birch stammered.

"Birch, d'you want a wife?"

"Well, uh, I-"

"No woman wants a man who's weak! A woman wants a man who can protect her! Fight for her! Keep her safe!" Mr Kelton declared. "Now, go run after that crazy lil' sonofabitch!"

Birch quickly did as he was told. Lawrence had only managed to run one block before Birch caught up with him. Birch was taller and had longer legs, so he caught up with Lawrence almost instantly. He tackled him from behind, pinning him to the ground. Lawrence threw his arms over his face and flinched, hiding from the attack he knew he was going to recieve.

Birch pulled Lawrence's arms away from his face, gritted his teeth, and raised his fist to strike the Negro trespasser. But when he looked at Lawrence's face, he forgot why he was going to hit him. Lawrence's eyes had been squeezed shut as he waited for the brutal beating. He was surprised when it didn't come. Cautiously, he looked. There, he was presented with Birch's handsome face, and Birch was presented with Lawrence's frosty eyes. Both their eyes locked, and an unusual feeling surfaced within the two of them. They gazed at each other in silence for a few moments, not knowing what they were feeling and why, but there was something about it that didn't make them want to stop looking at each other.

Birch had still been frozen with his hand raised to strike. Remembering what he was about to do, he immediately felt guilty and put his hand down. He couldn't bear the thought of hitting this kid, and his face got hot. They gazed at each other some more, awkwardly, not saying anything. Birch remembered that he was still pinning this kid to the ground. He got off of him, took his arms and helped him up. "You.....you okay?" Birch asked shyly. Lawrence nodded. He was dusty and a little scratched up, but he felt okay. He pulled a few pears out of his pocket and offered them to Birch. "I'm sorry..." he said softly. Birch's lips tightened. "Nah, you can keep 'em," he replied. They looked at each other in silence for a few more moments. Lawrence would've had a billion horrible thoughts in his mind. Like this white kid was going to report him to the klan, or he was just standing there waiting for the right time to strangle him. But then he remembered the pears he was given.