Haunted

10 | the colors

Hazel estimated that they had about an hour left of daylight before the sun fully vanished beneath the horizon after dinner. With full stomachs and giggled excitement at the prospect of finally spending time outdoors, the group of soldiers made their way through the back doors of the compound and onto the perfectly manicured grounds that Hazel had only glimpsed through windows. She paused a few steps from the threshold, and with the distance between her and her friends growing, she slipped off her shoes and socks, delight bubbling through her chest at the feeling of the grass beneath her toes, so real and tangible.

A grin gracing her face, she hurtled forward, her socks and trainers gripped in one hand, pumping by her side as she sprinted past her friends who yelped in surprise. She didn't stop until she'd reached the lake that she'd stared at from the library's reading nook all those times, halting by the water's edge and panting, her chest rapidly rising and falling with her ragged breaths. Waiting for the others to catch up, she struggled to pinpoint the sensation that lit up her entire body.

Red was the first to reach her, jumping and vaulting herself into the air by placing her hands on Hazel's shoulders and pushing down. Hazel nearly fell to the ground with the force but managed to recover, stepping backwards with a peal of laughter that rang out in the pleasantly warm air, joining the sounds of buzzing mosquitoes, Red's own guffaws, and the distant chattering of her friends.

Red grabbed her hand and tugged her down so that they were both seated on the grass, and as the ginger squeezed her hand, she realized what the sensation was, what all that light bursting through her pores was. Joy. Unequivocal, unadulterated, pure joy. She squeezed Red's hand back, hoping to Merlin that the motion would communicate the feelings that she was sure her words could not. Red's brown eyes shone at her, and she knew that she understood.

The others joined them, sitting to form a circle, and Hazel's beating heart was thrumming against her ribcage for all of them. For the way that Buck took a place next to her and offered her a small smile, for the way that Blue looked up to the sky with her eyes closed and the most relaxed expression settling on her features, for the way that Braid and Irish quietly chatted with their foreheads leaned close, obviously having resolved their fight. For the way that she could spy the ghostly figure of the moon in the air, patiently waiting to take its nightly position, and for the way that a gentle breeze floated across her skin, kissing every freckle and weaving through the tendrils of hair that had come loose from her ponytail.

She couldn't even speak, so overcome with emotion that her vocal cords refused to cooperate. She was unable to tell if her feelings stemmed from finally being outdoors after so much time cooped up inside, or from the experience of being with friends. Either way, her elation had her wishing that she was far enough into her Occlumency studying that she could take a mental picture of this moment and save it for later. Even so, she tried, committing every detail to memory.

"It's a beautiful night," came a voice from her right, and she found Boulder leaning forward next to Buck so that his face was visible beyond the other boy's frame, his brown-eyed gaze resting on her face. She'd been wary of him ever since the incident with Truth or Dare, but he seemed to have gotten the hint when she rejected his dare that night, so she returned his smile.

"Yes, it is," and there was a trace of admiration in her voice as she looked up to the sky, its colors subtly beginning to turn as the minutes passed. She shifted her position, stretching out her legs into the middle of the circle and letting her arms hold her up from behind. Blades of grass tickled the exposed skin of her ankles, but she didn't mind the sensation. Everything about it felt natural.

She only looked up when Braid's voice raised from across the circle in conversation with Bushy. "I heard he's killed four people." The words disrupted the agreeable mood that Hazel had been enjoying, but her curiosity at their topic of discussion overshadowed her annoyance. She barely noticed when Buck stood, dusting his hands on his pants, and saying he was heading off for a stroll.