Good Things Never Last

Chapter 80

The running had quickly become a jog and was progressing into a walk. It didn't take long for the snow to melt beneath our feet, revealing lush green grass beneath it.

Even so, I was shivering and had goosebumps all over my body. That was probably due to the fact that I was only wearing a short-sleeved top and a pair of joggers since anything else would have weighed me down. Clay was adamant about it, suddenly acting as if it were the most important thing in the world if something went wrong and I needed to bolt, and now here I am freezing my arse off.

However, the green giant that had been walking by my side seemed to notice my discomfort and stopped in his tracks a few moments later. Sighing, I turned to face him, only to see his t-shirt riding up ever so slightly as he removed his hoodie, leaving his toned torso exposed momentarily. I could feel the blush creep onto my face as I quickly averted my eyes and caught sight of where his eyes should be, only to watch him move his mask to the side and wiggle his eyebrows.
"Like what you see?"

I shoved past him, rolling my eyes, and continued on my way, mildly irritated by his arrogant attitude, even though he may have been right. And that's when something hit me in the back of the head. Turning around, I was greeted with the biggest smile I'd ever seen, as well as a bundle of green just in front of my feet.
"What? You looked cold"
Cautiously, I picked up the piece of green cloth and held it out in front of me.
I held up a neon green hoodie, the same one that Mr. no longer green giant had been wearing just a few minutes before.

"Will you not get cold?"
"Just put the bloody thing on will you? Otherwise we'll both end up dying of hypothermia"
Looking at the piece of clothing up and down one more time, I lifted it over my head, allowing its warmth to enclose around me almost instantly as a sigh escaped my lips. The smell of peppermint and vanilla filled my nostrils as I looked down, realising I was virtually dressed, the hoodie falling to just above my knees while its sleeves hid my hands entirely.

Huffing, I pulled down the hood and sent the blond a half glare, half grin before turning and walking away, my hands already stuffed into the hoodie's pockets. We walked in a comfortable silence as we made our way back to the house, both proud of our accomplishments even when we could've achieved something more if we weren't rudely interrupted.

It was almost dusk when we arrived home, but it was only the boy beside me who seemed to want the comfort of his bed as a yawn slipped between his lips.
"You can get tonight off, it's been a long day"
I just yawned back and looked up at him, smiling as I watched him rub his tired eyes, a grin still plastered on his face.
"Well I'm going to head to bed princess. Goodnight"
He quickly leant down, pecking my forehead before scurrying down the spiral staircase, his blush not going unnoticed by me.

"Goodnight..."

To say I was flustered was an understatement. I was as red as a tomato, my jaw practically on the floor. I had subconsciously raised my hand to touch where his lips had been, and my eyes were trained on where he once stood. I quickly brought my hand away from my forehead and slapped myself across the face. I headed straight towards the couch, burying the fluttering within my stomach deep down where it wouldn't bother me.

I was pissed off at myself.
I was becoming deaf to everything that was going on.
Throwing my own emotions off a cliff just to do as he says.
Nothing else mattered to me.
He was now my song.
The song that I'd listen to on repeat.
I didn't like it one bit.
If I had the chance, I'd change everything in a heartbeat, yet nothing could stop the butterflies in my tummy every time he mentioned my name or the smile, an actual smile, he'd somehow plant on my face.

Frustrated, I shoved my hands back into the hoodie, my fingertips brushing against something flimsy that I hadn't noticed before. I snatched the object from the hoodie's pocket and held it up to my face, allowing me to view it clearly. There was a single piece of parchment in front of my eyes that could have been over a decade old. With crinkled edges and a discoloured surface, it made the writing that lay upon it a lot more difficult to read.

But I still managed to do it nonetheless.

Before me on the sheet sat three different numbers.

637
71
-2046

Only one thing came to mind as I read the numbers over and over again.
Coordinates.
I couldn't think of anything else.
But why could Clay have them?
Where do they lead too?

And who was going to get answers?

Me, I was.
Because I was bored and my room was all the way up the stairs.

Throwing the hood of the hoodie up so I could keep warm, I searched the kitchen drawers as fast and quietly as possible until my eyes finally landed on the paper of a map, making me silently celebrate to myself.

I quickly tiptoed back to the front door and retreated to the great outdoors without making a sound. Looking down at the paper again, I managed to gather that I needed to head southeast through the forest, so that's exactly what I did.

After what seemed like an eternity, the trees gradually dispersed as the sun rose higher in the sky, drawing my attention to the blazing flames that stood on posts on the open field of land in front of me. A massive pine tree sat in the middle of it all, decorated with little baubles of every colour imaginable and tinsel that spiralled up the entire thing, drawing my attention to the dazzling star perched on top.

A white tent lay just beyond the Christmas tree, overlooking some sort of beach, with a jukebox in front of its doorway. And off in the distance was a circular wooden building I couldn't see too well.

But something else caught my eye.

Standing roughly twenty or so feet away was a doorway made out of a black stone. It was the same stone that had surrounded L'Manburg when I'd first set sight on its lands. A purple glow sat within its threshold, operating as the door despite the fact that it didn't appear to be solid, yet it wasn't liquid or gas either, just rather a strange in-between.

But there was more to it than that.
A low humming, slowly trying to sing me to sleep so the creatures that lay within could feast on my unstable self, slowly lulling me towards my demise.