April 27th

Chapter 7

.•° ✿ °•.
Seven

°•. ✿ .•°

"Why are you going to Harvard?" April asked Javier, wrapping masking tape round the trunk of a tall, slim tree to keep track of their path so far. It was her version of leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to help them find their way back.

They had been walking for about half an hour after finding the first berry tree and were doing nothing but asking each other questions in turns. It would've been a truth or dare, like he'd suggested, but April had insisted on keeping it completely random. In short, it was driving him crazy.

Her questions were as untimed as they were impact packed. First, she'd asked if he'd ever kissed a girl in a bath tub. After that, she'd asked how many favorite songs he had. After that, she'd demanded he listed three reasons to die.

Apart from constant poking, she had also been swinging herself off of tree branches like a gymnast and climbing on fallen tree trunks. While he was struggling with finding answers to her questions, she was doing nothing but playing around like nothing even mattered.

Why was he going to Harvard?

Because he wanted to prove he could be a good heir. Why? Because he knew he would never be supported otherwise. Why?

"Because I want to," he lied, keeping his voice cool.

"Why would you wanna go to a university full of ten-year planners?" She asked him, landing beside him from being on top of a fallen tree trunk. "Last I remember, you hated that stuff."

He placed a hand in his pocket, watching her as she held another tree with one hand, walking around it repeatedly. It was hard to follow her, even harder to picture himself doing that. "You're gonna get dizzy."

"You'll catch me." she smiled.

Before he could speak again, she was off. "Answer the question!"

"Because I want a future, and that's how you get a future," he said as seriously as he could force the words out.

She chuckled. "You're gonna be a Harvard graduate of what? Music? Do they even have that?"

He wished.

"I'm an Econ Major."

She paused in her stride and cocked her head as if giving him time to change his words. When he didn't, she barked a laugh. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

"What happened to Javstrings?"

He heaved a sigh. 'Javstrings', had been one of April's names for him during their time in highschool. She'd horribly named him that after his ability to play the guitar. He had objected to it at first, but when she'd stuck her pencil out at him and suggested the other options, he had no choice than to accept it.

"Would you prefer Jazzy Javier Or JazJav?"

"I chose not to carry it on."

She turned, looked at him for a while, then shrugged, dismissing the topic. "Okay then, ask me something." She leaped over a broken, dirty eyesore of what used to be a chainsaw.

His turn.

He trained his eyes on the back of her head, a swirl of potential questions brewing in his head. He could ask her why she wasn't in college, but he was afraid her answer could be something that led back to his own college situation. Deciding to steer clear of the topic entirely, he thought of something else. "Why do you date a lot?"